Innocence is Lost
by KiwiAid
Summary: Olivia Phillips (a.k.a Olly) grew up in Savannah with her dad, Joel. The day everything happened, they got separated and she's searched for him ever since. As the years pass she starts to lose hope that she ever will. Then she comes across a group who may be in more trouble than she is. Luke/OC
1. Chapter 1 - The Day it Happened

TWD story – Chapter 1 – The day it happened.

It seemed it was a morning like any other in Savannah. The sun was glaring through the peaks of the clouds in the warm sky and civilians were passing through the streets, getting on with their business, thinking about what they'd have for dinner later. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

Olivia had decided to lay in bed for a little while longer. She didn't have a job anymore anyway. She was glad of it. She was tired of doing the same things every single day... take someone's order, go to the kitchens, give them the order, clean some dishes, take out the order, take someone else's order. It was painful. Her dad, Joel was pretty pissed at her for losing her job but there was nothing she could do about it now. Olivia loved her dad, he was all she had left since her mum died of cancer when she was a young girl, but she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a grown woman in her early twenties, she didn't want to clean dishes for the rest of her life. Her dad often spoke about taking off in their boat and travelling for awhile, but they never got round to it. Joel was always busy. It was probably because he didn't want to be reminded of his deceased wife, so he worked until he forgot. He never did.

Olivia dragged herself out of her comfortable cradle and slipped on her bunny shaped slippers. "Dad!" She shouted from the top of the stairs. No reply was returned. Olivia assumed he'd already set out to work as he did most days and turned back in to her box-sized room and pulled on some slim fitted jeans and a t-shirt that was far too big. Then, She turned to the broken mirror that was placed on the wall and cringed at the sight. Her intense, fiery red hair no longer held any attraction as it seemed to resemble a painting by Francis Bacon. Olivia grabbed her hairbrush and ran it through her disheveled hair and attempted to tie it back, but stubbornly her fringe continued to fall in front of her face.

That's when she heard it. The scream. A scream of terror.

Olly darted downstairs and flung open the front door. Only to see a woman shaking violently on the concrete floor with another person piercing her neck with its teeth. "Oh my God..." Olivia darted down the street towards her dad's workplace, the screams of others and fear riding her forwards. She didn't get the whole way, before she was grabbed and pulled in to a tight hug. Her determination had made her oblivious to the fact that her father had been heading towards her first.

"Thank goodness you're okay, Olly." Tears had sprung from their shared emerald eyes, but the moment was crushed when another scream pierced the sky. "We have to go, honey. There's supplies on the boat, but we have to go quickly. There's a storm coming." And he was right. Olly hadn't noticed it before. The sky had grown dark and eery, like God had given up on this place. Joel grabbed hold of Olivia's hand and pulled her towards the seafront. It was a race. A race against others who fled to the shore, a race against the oncoming storm and the race against those man eating creatures that had caused so much fear and mayhem. Olly afforded a look towards the shopping centre and gazed upon the looters and pillagers. Mayhem.

Joel jumped on the boat and pulled Olivia's slightly shaking body aboard after him. Then he got to work on getting the boat out of the docking bay. Olly couldn't move. Her body felt like ice and fire all at the same time. The screams echoed inside her head until they were nothing more but dull noise. The boat shook under her feet as it accelerated forward. She could hear her dad cursing in the background, but she didn't regain her senses until he continuously shook her. "Hey! Snap out of it, honey!"

"Sorry, sorry." She shook her head in disbelief trying to figure out if this was all real. If people had really gone mad. If the world was really ending.

"Honey you need to snap out of this. I need you to be strong. We have a problem. The boat doesn't have enough power for the large trip, but I might be able to get another battery. Do you hear?" Olly nodded. "Good, then I'll go and get us one." Joel moved towards the wheel of the boat preparing to turn it around, but she clung to his arm and shook her head. "I have to, honey. We'll be okay." He attempted to reverse the boat back to its original position, but it was too late. The storm was upon them and other boats who also weren't as quick surrounded them. They had lost this race. The once deep blue sea had turned grey and clattered in to the the fishing boat that was floating in the middle of the water. The boat swayed violently from side to side, catching them both off guard and sending them flying overboard. The waves crashed over Olivia causing her to choke on the sea water as she attempted to keep afloat. Olly kicked her feet in a struggle to swim towards the boat, but then a loud crash sounded as a boat also trying to escape collided with her childhood fishing memories. Instead, she made for the shore.

When she finally washed up on land, she frantically searched for her father. She hadn't washed up on the docks, but further down the sea. She was now just outside of the city, an onlooker of the devastation. Confusion wracked her mind as the once chaotic city seemed to have grown silent. Had she passed out? Fear filled her bones as there was no sign of her father. She had to find him.

Olly crawled her way through to the city, like a spider. The city was dead. The people were dead. Whatever these things were that were left, weren't people. They just roamed. They were roamers. Olivia tried to keep herself focused on finding her dad, but the whole world was fucked. How did this even happen? She sighed and turned the corner to where their house lay.

_If Dad were still alive, that's where he'd search for me. No, no. He's still alive. He'll be there. He has to be._

Olly entered the house quickly, shutting the door behind her. Scanning the living room she whispered her father's name softly. No reply. Sprinting upstairs she pushed her father's room door open. "Dad!" Nothing. Tears made her eyes glisten like gems as they escaped to her pale skin. She knew her dad hadn't been here, because his hat was still hung up on the bed post. He loved that hat. He only left it here when he had to go to work because it wasn't uniform regulation, but there was no way he'd go extended periods of time without it. She cradled it in her hands for a while before placing it on her head. _You're still out there dad... I know you are. _Olly ran to her room and pulled out her backpack from under her bed and started tossing important items inside. She'd find him... she had to.

Her dad had never believed in keeping weapons in the house and if she was going to survive... she'd need a weapon. Olly stalked her way to the huge weapons shop that lay on the outskirts of Savannah. She imagined that most of it had been pillaged but maybe she would be able to find a pistol in the very least. Once she finally reached the weapons' shop, she realised she had been correct. Most of the weapons that were once secure, were now no longer here. _There has to be something._ There were a few loose boxes of ammo scattered around that she placed in her backpack. Under the counter lay a revolver with scattered ammunition around it. She smiled with relief and then checked the magazine. It was full. Placing the gun in her backpack, she went to leave... until something caught her eye. Hung on the wall was a katana, with an embroided sheath. Olly remembered the time she entered this store and she had tried to convince her dad to buy her it... Now she'd find him with it.


	2. Chapter 2 - 2 years, 1 month later

TWD story – Chapter 2 – 2 years, 1 month and 6 days later...

Over the years it had become less about finding her dad, and more about survival. Olivia had heard stories about people heading north, that the cold made it better there. She didn't know if she believed it, but if her dad was still alive, he might be heading in the same direction. So, she continued to walk... and walk. Before she often came across people who offered her a place amongst their group, before she often came across people who wanted to steal from her, before she often came across people who wanted to kill her... Now, she didn't come across anyone. _I struggle to even find food these days_. Her belly rumbled as if on cue and she stopped to take a breather on a broken tree a few metres away.

Pulling off her backpack, Olly tried to remember the last time she ate. After pulling the zip to peer at the contents of the bag, she realised it must have been about two days ago since she hadn't gathered any food since then and now she was out. Sighing, she opened her plastic bottle only to find it no longer contained any water. _Damn it. Everything is so fucked. My only possessions __of any value __now are an empty revolver, my katana... and my dad's hat. _She placed a hand on the rim of the dirty, green cap. Her eyes portrayed her again as she released a few speckles of water from them. _Damn, I broke my record... I managed to go two weeks with out crying this time. _

That's when the all too familiar sound of roamers appearing through the bushes were heard. Olly zipped up her backpack and slung it on her shoulder searching the area for an exit. There were far too many for her to deal with by herself with just her katana. Suddenly, one lunged forwards in attempt to grab her, her heart leaped in her chest and her legs sprinted forward through the bushes. Her heart hammered and sweat dripped down her back. When she could run no longer, she collapsed to the ground, physically exhausted. She needed to rest. Her body slid itself down the bark of a tree and her eyes closed shut, just for a second.

The next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake and immediately she was on guard. She reached for her katana but she looked at the guy who seemed to be a couple of years older than her... and she didn't feel threatened. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay. We're not going to hurt you." The young man had brown, shaggy hair. He wore a faded jumper with a machete strapped to his back. Behind him was a guy about the same age, wearing a cap and green shirt. She didn't feel threatened. "My name's Luke and this is Nick." He gestured to himself and then to the other man who clutched his hunting rifle. He was nervous. Olivia tried to speak but her mouth was too dry and the words came out as a choked whisper. "It's okay, you don't have to speak. We're going to help you okay. Our group is held up in a cabin a little way off. We have a food and a doctor, we'll help fix you up."

"Look, Luke... Is this wis-?"

"We can't just leave her, Nick! Look at her. She's a mess." If Olly had been able, she would have made a smartass comment to that. She didn't have the strength though. _I just need to sleep. _With that, her eyes slid shut.

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"Is she waking up?" Olly's eyes fluttered open on cue and immediately she was alert. Now she felt threatened. Her eyes shot around the cool, dark room. It was a log cabin from what she could tell. "I'll take that as a yes." Her eyes then darted to the unfamiliar voice. It was an older man with white hear, wearing a green shirt. Next to him was the guy who introduced himself as Luke, and then Nick and finally a woman who was heavily pregnant.

"It's okay... no need to be scared." Luke had his arms held out as if he was trying to calm a cornered animal. "It's ok-"

"It's not okay, Luke! What were you thinking!? What if she's with Carver?"

"Calm down, Rebecca." The older man spoke more soothingly.

"Hell no, Pete. She can't stay here!"

Olly's mind felt like it was about to explode. The pain in her head drowned out all the background bickering that was taking place and she sat up and placed her head on her hands. "Guys, please shut up. Hey – you ok?" Luke placed a soothing hand on her shoulder and surprisingly, she didn't cower from it.

"I – I..." Her throat burned and it hurt to breathe.

"Hey Nick, get the girl some more water."

Nick look startled by the order. "What? Why do I have to do it?"

Pete scowled at him. "I'll do it. This boy seems to have forgotten his manners." Nick muttered under his breath whilst Pete left the room.

"C-can you talk?" Luke spoke hesitantly as if he was nervous that she would break if she attempted it.

"It j-just hurts." Olivia placed her hand to her throat, as if to ease the pain.

"I know, but we're going to get you something to drink. Carlos, he's the doctor, he's been keeping an eye on you for us. He says you were dehydrated and malnourished... He said you'll be okay, though."

"This is bullshit. She shouldn't be here, Luke. She's with Carver."

"Stop it, Rebecca. I'm handling this. Go and relax with Alvin, will you?" Luke and Rebecca stared at each other as if they were having a conversation only they could understand and then she left in a huff. "Sorry about her, she's just got a lot to deal with." The door opened again and Pete returned with a glass of water. Luke took it and began pouring it down her mouth slowly. "You feelin' better?"

"Yeah, but.. I can do this myself you know." She gestured to the cup and Luke smiled.

"Well, I didn't want you drinkin' it all at once." He passed her the glass and then sat on the bottom of the bed they laid for her. "Nick, Pete... could you give us a minute?"

Pete looked at Nick who didn't seem to want to leave. "Com'on son." The older man placed his hand on the younger boy who just shrugged it off.

"I ain't your son." Nick stormed out and Pete turned to the mysterious girl, smiled apologetically and then followed after.

"Heh, sorry about that. It ain't always like this, I promise."

Olivia looked at Luke and saw a type of person she hadn't seen in a long time – a good person."I understand. I know how families can be. I don't mean to be any trouble though, so I promise as soon as I am able, I'll leave."

"Woah, woah. I don't mean to tell you what to do or nothin', but no way will you be able to survive on your own-"

"Will all due respect, I've survived on my own for a very long time... I 'll be okay as long as I have my revolver and my trusted kat... Hey! Where's my stuff!?" Luke was taken aback by the sudden change in her demeanor. Her red hair seemed to light her face on fire as it fell infront of her eyes and the death glare he received was almost frightening.

"Hey, calm down. It's just over there, by the door." Luke gestured to her backpack that lay awaiting her return. She sighed with relief and then looked back in to Luke's dark, sad eyes. She instantly calmed. "Look, I didn't mean to say you couldn't handle youself, you need to regain your strength though... But I do need to know a bit about yourself."

Olly looked up startled. "What!?"

"Only things that may be important... Like your name, can you tell me your name?"

Olly stayed silent for a second, weighing up her options. Her past was a dark one. Not just because she'd seen people die, everyone had seen that. No, she'd done dark things too. Things she'd rather forget. This world changed her... it came to the point that she'd do anything to find her dad, and she did. That person left her though, she forgot about her. No way will she be reminded... She'll speak a little, enough so they keep feeding her. Then, she would leave. "Olivia.. but people just call me Olly."

He smiled at his achievement and then pressed for more. "So, how have you managed to survive all by yourself?"

She hesitated. "I was with a group for awhile... it didn't work out."

Luke hesitated also. "W- why didn't it work out?"

The house seemed to be silent now. As if everyone was listening. Luke was staring in to her emerald eyes, awaiting her response. She trusted him. For some reason, she trusted him. "We had different goals. Their goal was was nothing but survival... I wanted to search for my dad."


	3. Chapter 3 - Emotions running high

**So, hey guys. I should probably have said 'Hi' in the first chapter, but oh well. This story is basically just a little pet project of mine. If people happen to like it as the same time then that's fine by me. Also, if you spot any mistakes write in the review section or PM me. I do re-read my work but sometimes I still don't spot them. Thanks for giving this the time of day.**

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TWD Story – Chapter 3

"She's not with Carver." Luke stood before the rest of the group who gathered round in the kitchen, their typical meeting place. He left Olly in the other room with some food. He felt she could use the space. "She's just another survivor like us."

"Did she say anything else to you?" Carlos was leaning against the kitchen counter, his arms folded against his chest. Everyone else listened intently.

"Nothin', just what I've already told you. She grew up in Savannah, her dad and her got separated and she's still lookin' for him." Luke was having a hard time convincing everyone that she has had nothing to do with their past. It was to be expected, with everything that had happened.

"Did you even bother to ask what the heck she was doing all the way out here? Or what she has done since this thing started!?" Luke knew that Rebecca was taking this the worst. Fear always made emotions run high, and right now Rebecca's were through the roof.

"I asked what I felt comfortable askin'. People like that have a lot of bad memories and I didn't want to go routin' through them. She told me what she felt she could tell and that's good enough for me." Luke scanned each face for any comfort in what he was saying, but they remained impassive. "If she was workin' with Carver, she would have already left to report back to him." Luke tried with one last feeble attempt.

"He's right. Besides, we've just left the girl in a room with her weapons... If she meant us any harm she would have just done it." Luke smiled at Pete with gratitude and looked to Carlos who seemed to be thinking on the same wavelength.

"We'll keep an eye on her. If Carver does finally catch up on us we could use the extra man power. I'll have to talk to Sarah about this... otherwise she'll get nervous." Luke nodded to Carlos as he passed on his way out of the kitchen, but thought to himself '_more like or you'll get nervous, Carlos.'_

"I don't like this.." Rebecca was twitching nervously and Alvin placed an arm around her. "It's okay, Rebecca. We can handle this."

Luke strolled out of the kitchen feeling quite pleased with himself. Then, he felt a hand weigh down his shoulder and turned to see Nick beside him, looking pretty anxious. "Okay, what's on your mind, pal?"

Nick remained silent for a moment. "I'm not questioning your judgment or anything, but why do you still insist on helpin' people after all that's happened? People have died.."

Luke's smile faded. "I know, but I honestly feel like she could be of some use. Please trust me, Nick."

Nick nodded. "You know I do." Luke patted him on the back and then left to go check on the new member of their group. There was no doubt that this girl was beautiful. Even when she was wearing that dirty green cap, her hair illuminated the room the colour of blood. The malachite of her large eyes contrasted with the fiery red of her hair perfectly. She had a slim-lined face that possessed plump rouge lips and cheekbones that cut could metal. Luke didn't need this distraction, but he didn't deny it either.

Once he reached the door of the room they left her, he placed his ear against it, listening for any movement. He didn't hear any. He tapped on the door lightly. When no response came, he pushed the door ajar and peered inside. Lying still in the bed was Olly, her legs tangled in the sheets and her face half dug in to the pillow. In her hand clutched that dirty green hat. Luke smiled at the image and shut the door behind him. There had to be a story with that hat.

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**A short chapter with the POV of Luke. Hope you liked it.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Decisions and Indecisions

**We're finally getting in to the events of the game now which means... Clementine! Back to Olivia POV.  
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"Hey, Luke! How much further until we get back to the cabin?" Olly, Luke and Pete had offered to go and look for some game for food. They'd managed to get some rabbit, but that's all that they snagged.

"Not much further." So they continued their trek in silence. Olivia had regained much of her strength thanks to the group, mainly thanks to Luke. She knew if it weren't for him, she'd be dead. The others would have cast her out. Most had come to accept her now. Nick spoke to her in the evenings about his and Luke's bust business which was always entertaining, Pete was teaching her how to fish down at the lake, Carlos and his daughter Sarah spoke about their spanish origins and Carlos even taught her how to heal simple wounds. Rebecca's husband was nice enough when his wife wasn't around, but Rebecca... Rebecca still didn't trust her. This only made Olly suspicious that she had something to hide... _perhaps it has something to do with this Carver guy e__veryone keeps whispering about. Not that __I'll be sticking around to find out.__ I'm still planning on leaving. They're good people, but I need to __continue__ North. _"You keepin' up, Oliver?" Luke turned his head slightly towards her with his cheeky smile plastered on his face.

Olly picked up the pace until she stood beside Luke and Pete. "I told you not to call me that, Lucy." Olivia's frown was replaced with a smug grin at Luke's disgust.

"Lucy? Really? Took you this long to come up with that?" Olly continued to grin to herself. "Well, you still haven't told me the story behind that dirty cap of yours." Luke gestured to the cap on her head that attempted to keep her wild hear out of her face. Her smile faltered.

"Yeah, com'on girly. Out with it." Pete had always tried to mask his curiosity until now.

Olivia sighed in defeat. "What's there to say? It's a reminder.."

Luke glanced down at her, she was slightly shorter than he was so it was always difficult to tell how she was feeling because the damned hat concealed her face He hesitated before persisting. "A reminder of what?"

Olly stared at the endless road in front of them, reminiscing over times forgotten. "It was-" Suddenly an arm was abruptly placed in front of her, preventing their brisk pace.

"Sssh, did you hear that?" They all stopped to try and listen to what Luke had heard. The only sound audible being the sound of birds tweeting above their heads.

"What did you hear, son?" Luke didn't say anything.

"There it was again. Did you hear it?" Olly and Pete shook their heads. Then a slight shriek was heard by all three of them on the east side of their flank. The group took up running towards, what sounded like, a young girl in trouble. They could hear the struggle, they were close. That's when Olly saw her, a young girl wearing a baseball cap attempting to push off a walker. Luke saw her too and sprinted forward, then sliced the roamer's head clean off. More began to surround the group, they were quickly being outnumbered. Olly unsheathed her katana and sliced through the head of one and then curved round and sliced another. Pete used his crossbow to put a bolt in the head of one that was gaining on him. Then turned and put a bolt in another.

"I'm out, grab her and let's go!" Luke obeyed, scooped up the girl and all three of them ran back towards the cabin. The group's pace slowed when they were in the clear and stopped to take a breather.

"Damn... I think, I think we're okay." Olly coughed as her throat seemed to tighten.

"You sure you're okay, Oliver?" Olly nodded. "I knew it was too soon to bring you out with us. You're still getting better."

"It was my choice, Lucy." She gave him a half smile and he returned it.

"Well, you sure know how to swing that sword of yours..."

"Don't mean to interrupt this lovin' moment, but you're carrying a little girl that seems to be a little out of it." Pete stared at them knowingly.

"Oh, shit. Right. Hey, you okay?"

"I-I think so..." Pete was right, this little girl was out of it. They all continued there walk home so they could get this little girl checked out. _Luke seems to make a habit of saving people's lives. _Olivia smiled to herself.

Pete twisted to look the girl over. "What are you doing out here?" He seemed to speak more harsh than intended so Luke interrupted.

"Where are the, uh... people you're with? There's no chance you made it this long on your own." Olly scowled to herself. _This doesn't seem like any of our business._

"My friend and I got attacked." Luke and Pete both shared startled looks.

Pete was attempting to keep his cool. "Hmm... these folks mention what they were after?"

"They might've just wanted food. We were cooking some sort of weasel."

Luke's face tried to remain indifferent. Olly could see right through it though. "They attacked you for a weasel...? Damn. That is low... They didn't mention any names, right...? They weren't searching for anybody?" _Rebecca ain't gonna like this. _The little girl just shook her head. This seemed to relax Luke a little. "Well... I'm Luke, and that's Pete and behind us is Oliver."

"He means, Olivia. Everyone calls me Olly though."

"Hi, I'm Clementine."

"It's nice to meet you, Clementine. For now, we're going to take you back to our group, okay? We got a doctor with us and you look like you could use some- OH SHIT!" In panic, Luke dropped Clementine to the ground which rewarded him with a squeal of pain.

"Luke!" Olly started to run towards the little girl, but Luke pulled her back.

"She's... she's been bit, man. FUCK! Fuck fuck fuck... what are we gonna do here...?"

"No, it was a dog!"

Pete stared at the little girl, attempting to keep his calm demeanor, whilst Luke began frantically pacing and Olly watched with interest. "I didn't see no dog, Clementine."

"Com'on kid. Look, we just saw you with those lurkers back there!"

"Calm down, Luke."

"How can I calm down, Olivia!? You weren't there whe-"

"No! Just look at it! Please!"

Luke turned and glared at her. "Yeah, and have you sink your teeth in Pete's neck? No way."

"My neck? Why'm I the one?"

"Cause I don't know a dog bite from a mosquito bite from a lurker bite, man."

"It's not!" Olly peered down at the girl, cradling her arm. She stepped forward and knelt down next to her.

"Woah-oh... careful." Clementine glared at him. "Hey, don't look at me like that, you're the one that's bit here."

"I'm going to slide your sleeve up now, is that okay?" Clem nodded and slowly but surely, her sleeve was rolled up over the wound. The wound was deep and if it wasn't taken care of, it would get infected. Olivia gazed in to Clementine's eyes. "Was this done by a dog?"

"Yes." Olly nodded and helped Clementine to her feet.

"Woah, wait. What did you expect her to say?"

"I believe her. I'd say the wound was far too big to be human sized."

Pete nodded. "Then that's good enough for me."

Luke's eyes darted from person to person. "W-what?"

"Look, Luke. We have a doctor. You helped me when I needed it and I sure as hell ain't gonna leave a little girl out here to die when we have a doctor who will look at this and agree with me." Luke sighed and began walking forward again and the others followed. However, they all turned back to see Clementine barely able to walk. "Hey, Clementine... you okay?"

"I-I'm fine... just... tired."

"Well, you better be fine. 'Cause I ain't carryin' you anymore with that bite on your arm."

"Don't worry about..." Clem never finished her words before her whole body swayed to her left and toppled to the ground.

"Ah, shit."

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**Hope you enjoyed this, guys. If you didn't then please feel free to let me know why!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Tough Calls

**Hey everyone! So, this chapter was a tough to say the least. I purposely didn't write much description in this one. It needed to feel like it was all a little fast paced. I think you'll soon understand why. Hope you enjoy.**

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TWD Chapter 5 – Tough calls.

Olly, Luke and Pete all dashed down to the cabin. Olly carried Clementine, Luke close behind her and Pete took the rear. All but Carlos and Sarah had been waiting for them to return outside. As soon as Rebecca saw the little girl curled up unconscious in Olivia's hands, the arguments erupted.

"What the fuck!? Who the fuck is she?"

_Great. Of course she'd be out here. _"Calm down, Rebecca." Olivia took a protective stance in front of Clementine after placing her on the ground.

"Don't tell me to calm down, girl!"

"Hey, Hey! Stop it! I need to go get Carlos." Luke sprinted off in to the house.

"What? Why does he need Carlos?" Nick turned to Pete and me in confusion.

"The girl's been bit by a dog." The groups eyes grew wide.

"You... you see this dog, Pete?"

"No, but Olly made a call."

"So, you're just going to take her word for it!? Fuck. She's bit man. She's going to kill us."

"Calm the fuck down, Nick. That bite it way too big to be a roamer's."

"Hey, don't tell me to calm the fuck down! I lost my mum to those fuckin' things!"

"Nick's right! On top of that, she might be working for Carver! Didn't you even think to ask where the hell she came from?"

"Carver, Carver, Carver. That's all the fuck it's about with you, Rebecca! She already told us that her and her friend were attacked and then she was bit by a dog!" _Am I the only one here who's going to defend this girl?_

"Fuck you, Olivia."

At some point, Clementine had awoken."I'm not working for any-" A gunshot rang out, narrowly missing Clementine. Everyone's startled eyes turned to Nick.

"What the fuck, Nick!?" Olivia charged towards him, fury masking any other emotion. She liked Nick, but not way in hell will she let him hurt this little girl.

The cabin door flung open and a panicked Luke ran out. "Whoa, whoa. What the fuck?"

"Everyone just calm the fuck down for a second." _So Alvin does have a backbone._

"Clementine, you okay?" _Oh, now Luke's concerned?_

"I-I'm not working for anyone. I don't know what you're talking about. I just need help."

"We got a doctor right here, okay. He'll have a look." Luke assured her. "Now what hell is wrong with you people?! Okay, she's just scared!"

"We're all scared, Luke! Don't act like we're the ones being irrational because we don't buy this bullshit story."

"Fuck sake, Rebecca. She's a little girl!" _Don't they realise how scared she must be?_

Carlos' smooth figure brushed past the crowd. "Let me take a look." He held his hand out to her, but Clementine was hesitant. _I'm not surprised. I know what it likes to have your life in someone else's hands. _

She glanced over to Luke, who tried reassuring her. "It's okay. Go ahead. He's a doctor."

_They're all going to eat their words now. Carlos will see the bites too big to be a roamer bite and she'll get patched up. That'll shut Rebecca up, for sure._

Clementine pulled up her sleeve slowly, trying to ignore the pain. Once she had finished, Carlos placed his hand on it lightly, inspecting the bite whilst a smile was easily visible from Olly. _The look on Rebecca's face will be priceless._

"Hmm. Whatever it was, it got you good."

Her smile faded as quick as it had come. "Sorry? What? 'What ever it was'... Are you for real, Carlos?" The fury Olivia felt was like fire, ready to burn any that got too close.

"This isn't how we do things, man When you're bit, you get put down. End of story. I'm not going through this again!"

"Shut the fuck up, Nick."

Luke glared at her. "Olivia, stop it! Look, Nick... Nobody is suggestin' that."

"We could take her arm off." All eyes were on Pete now. Especially Clementine's. "I know that worked for a cousin down in Ainsworth. We could try that."

"Has anyone bothered to think about what Clementine wants!?" _No way will I let them do this. This isn't there choice._

"She's hardly in a position to be makin' choices!"

"This isn't your choice either, Rebecca!"

Everyone turned to the sound of the cabin door opening. "Who's she?" In the doorway stood Sarah, looking curiously at Clementine over the rims of her red glasses.

Carlos rose to his feet. "Sarah? What'd I say? Stay inside." Sarah looked at her father with sad eyes, then shut the door of the cabin. He then returned to kneeling beside Clementine who attempted to plea one last time.

"I don't mean to be any trouble. I just want to stop the bleeding and then I'll go. You'll never see me again, I promise." _This girl is tough, that's for sure. Carlos better help her, or I swear..._

"And where exactly would you go?" Carlos asked.

"To find my friend, Christa."

"Forget it. You won't get five feet." _I'm sure she'd get further than you could, Nick._

"Look, I may be in the minority here, but my gut tells me she's telling the truth. It probably is just a dog bite, Probably..."

"Thank you, Lucy. Someone's finally talkin' some sense." Olly beamed at him with gratitude, Luke nodded at her in return.

Carlos sat up from his position and rounded up to the group. _It's okay, Clementine. Carlos has to have realised you're telling the truth. _

Alvin was the first to talk. "So? What'd you think?"

"A bite like that... could be anything." _Fuck. Is this really happening? Is Carlos even a fuckin' doctor!? _"Only one way to find out. We wait. By tomorrow morning, if the fever's set in, we'll know if she's going to turn. In the meantime we can lock her in the shed."

"Oh, no no no. No fuckin' way, Carlos! She needs help. That bite is-"

"This isn't your call, Olivia!" Olivia's blood boiled beneath her skin and her eyes glazed over, glaring at the man she once respected.

"She's right... My arm it needs to get cleaned, stitched and bandaged..." Clementine looked like a helpless animal whilst her predators decided whose prey she is.

"The girl's in bad shape, Carlos." _Sometimes I think me and Luke are the only sane ones in this group. _

"We have all that stuff inside the cabin, we could probably get by with..."

"ALVIN, please..." _Damn you, Rebecca._

"But, yeah. We can't do nothing." _I take it back, Alvin doesn't have a backbone._

Carlos turned to the girl and spoke softly. "I'm not wasting supplies on a lurker bite. If it turns out you're telling the truth, I'll clean it and stitch it in the morning."

"This is horse shit!" Olly turned and stormed in to the cabin and slammed the door of her bedroom. Throwing her sheathed katana on the pine floor, she collapsed onto the bed, tangling herself in the sheets. _I mean, what the fuck is their problem? She's a little girl! Damn it. Fuck those guys._

A few minutes later, a light tapping was heard on the wooden door to her bedroom. "Go away!" Olivia may have been acting more immature than the little girl outside, but she felt like she was the only person amongst this group that possessed any moral centre. Herself, and maybe Luke.

"It's me, Luke." _Think of the devil._

"...Come in." Luke tentatively stepped inside of the room, the floor boards creaking under his feet. He was afraid to set her in to a blind rage once again. He'd only seen the death glare she gave Carlos today a few times, the one that stuck in his mind the most being the day he met her. "This is bullshit, Luke. I mean, she's tired and hungry and hurt... so what do we do... we lock her in a fuckin' shed like an animal!"

"Hey, I don't like it either!" Luke stopped and took a second to breath. He knew she was right. Their group had never done anything like this before and he was beginning to lose sight on what was right and wrong. "...Com'on, there's a house meeting."

Olly paused for a second, and took a deep breath. "I'm leaving..."

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**I hope you guys enjoyed. I'm not too good at scenes with a huge mass of characters because I'm always afraid it'll get confusing, so if it did, I'm sorry. I tried to sneak in Olivia's thoughts on the character who was talking if it wasn't obvious, so I hope that made it easier.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Stealth and Lies

TWD Chapter 6 - Stealth and Lies

**Just wanted to say thanks for your kind words, guys. It's always nice to receive them. Hope you enjoy!**

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" W-what? Wait... WHAT?" Luke's face was unreadable. He possessed too many emotions, to identify which ones were which.

"I had planned on it anyway... but after tonight, I can't stay here. I'm not wanted anyway." Olivia's heart felt like it was sinking to the bottom of her stomach. Of all the people in this group, Luke was the last person she wanted to hurt. He had saved her life. The rest of the group however, were not people she wanted to be involved with. Olly had known people like them before, people scared of there own shadows...they always ended up dead. _I won't be apart of that again..._

"Of course you're wanted. Look, I know it's been tough, but I need someone like you backin' me up. You're not afraid to say what's on your mind and we need people like that in this group. You can protect, Clementine." Luke's words struck a chord with her. She knew he was right... Clem needed someone, she needed a parent figure to guide her. But that person wasn't her. She had to find her own parent figure.

"I'm sorry, Luke. That job isn't mine. It's not just about what happened tonight, that just opened my eyes to what's important. My dad is still out there. I know he is." Olly looked down at her hands, not able to meet Luke's gaze.

However, the silence caused her to look up and they both shared a glance, but in that moment, Luke wasn't looking in to her eyes, he was staring in to the very heart of her. He spoke carefully."What if he isn't?"

Olly's brow burrowed down in to a sharp frown."Are you sayin' I should just give up on him?!"

"Of course not! I just... I mean-"

"Luke! The house meeting is going on with out you, get your ass in here. Leave her if she won't come!"

"I'm comin', Rebecca!" He sighed, looking conflicted. "Look, just think about your options, yeah?" Olly's mind had been made up, but to appease him, she nodded. "So, you joining us?" He offered, with a smile that could probably melt butter... but not Olly.

"I c-can't face them." His brows creased in to a dejected frown, then left solemnly, closing the door behind him. Olly crashed back down on to the pillow, pulling the sheets of the bed over the top of her, allowing a tear to run down the side of her ruby cheek. These guys were family and she wasn't apart of that. Her family was still out there somewhere and she had to find him. A few moments later, the entry of her room opened uncertainly, on the other side appeared a young girl with a baseball cap and dark pigtails, the floorboards giving away any subtlety. Her startled eyes met Olly's understanding ones. "It's okay, I'm not goin' to hurt you."

Clementine noticeably relaxed. She entered the room fully, pulling the door so it was almost fully closed. "Can you help me? I'm not going to last the night unless I get this stitched and bandaged."

"You're one resourceful little girl, you know that? How'd you get out the shed?" Olly unraveled herself from the bed sheets and spoke as she started rummaging through the draws, searching for something to help her.

"There was a weak board on the fence that had must have been used to try and repair it once. All it took were a few kicks to break through." Olivia smiled at Clementine's mischievous grin.

"Well, I wish I had your balls kid. But you shouldn't stick around. The meeting wont last much longer. Oh, jackpot!" In the bottom draw was some clean cloth that could easily be used for bandages. "Here, take this." Olly placed the material in Clementine's hand. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, I don't think so. I already have a needle, something for stitches and something to stop it getting infected."

"Good, then get out of here before anyone spots you." They shared a smile. "Oh, and when they find out tomorrow, I'll take the wrap for it. No point getting you in to bother."

"Thanks... er?"

"Olly."

"Thanks, Olly." Clementine gave her an appreciative glance as she stalked out the room, leaving her in complete silence once again.

Olivia must have nodded off, because she awoke alarmed by the sound of screaming and crashing. She readjusted her cap and grabbed her katana from the floor, sprinting out the room and out the cabin. Luke, Alvin and Pete were already at the shed. Rebecca, Nick and Carlos close behind. Luke yanked open the doors to the rotted wooden prison, to see a very exhausted looking Clementine standing beside a exterminated roamer corpse.

"Clementine, you okay?" _No, no. Don't get attached, Olivia. You're leaving, remember?_

"Girls tough as nails."

"I'm. Still. NOT. Bitten. And you left me here to die."

Olly raised a hand to her neck and scratched awkwardly. This girl wasn't wrong. Everyone's eyes then trailed down to Clem's arm which was now newly stitched. "You patched yourself up?" _Are you actually surprised, Luke?..._

"Did she steal from us!?"

"Back of, Rebecca. I gave her the stuff." The group turned to her Olly, judging her. Each one of them was judging her, everyone except Carlos.

"No, you didn't. Not all of it anyway. I spoke to Sarah." Clementine physically tensed. "It's nice you're trying to protect her, Olivia. But don't lie for her."

"I'm sorry I stole from you, but I had no other choice. You weren't helping me." Clem resembled a mouse caught in a trap as she stood clutching her arm. A defiant mouse, but a mouse all the same.

"Bring her in and I'll take a look at her arm." Carlos then turned his back and wandered inside the cabin, the others trailing behind. The only people remaining behind with Clementine being, Luke and Olly.

"You hungry...?" Clementine didn't answer, but just followed after Carlos. Olivia and Luke shared a knowing glance and he sighed, crossing his arms against his chest. Then, they both began the small trek back to the isolated cabin.

"I know you might not believe it, but... I'm glad she's okay and she's free from that shed."

"No, I do believe it. From you. Nobody else." Olly gave a nonchalant response, whilst gazing at the woodlands as if she was scouting. _It'll be easier if people think I'm cold hearted. They'll let me leave. _

It was obvious to Luke what she was doing. So, he persisted. "They mean well, you know... I still think Clementine will need someone lookin' out for her, now especially. Her sneakin' in to the house would have just made people more pissed. They're not going to warm to her straight away."

Olly's heart skipped a beat. She needed to turn it up a notch if they were to believe she was as immoral as she believed **them** to be. "She has you to look out for her." She gave him the iciest look she could manage.

That cold gaze sent shivers down his spine, but he wouldn't let her win."Well, what if something happens to me-"

"It won't." She glared at him. Her flaming hair sticking out from beneath her cap, covering her face making her look even more terrifying. _There it was, that death glare. __Somehow different to her ice cold demeanor. It was worse._

"You know, you could kill someone with that glare, Oliver." Olivia seem to relax, she smiled and playfully punched him the arm. "Ouch, damn. You've got a mean right swing." Her serious tone vanished. No matter how hard she'd try, she could never be callous to Luke. He didn't deserve it. Seeing Luke's smug grin at his achievement, she chuckled to herself, causing Luke to turn to her in surprise. "You know, that's the first time I've heard you laugh."

"Shut up, Lucy." Once they reach the cabin, they both entered the kitchen to find Clementine sat on the a cushioned chair with Carlos knelt next to her and a very nervous looking Nick stood by his hunting rifle. The dim light of the room made it feel eerily like a trial. Luke sighed and then started pacing around the room. Olly unconsciously decided to stand a little closer to Clem, in the hope of avoiding Nick doing something stupid. She didn't dislike Nick. Actually, she found him to be a nice guy when he wasn't busy messing up and squaring up to his uncle, Pete.

"This might hurt a little." Carlos touched her arm lightly causing Clementine to squint.

"Ow!"

"How's she look...?" Olly turned to Luke, a surprised expression on her face. _Luke can't seriously still think..._

"Her suturing skills need some work, but otherwise I'd say she should be fine." An adamant feeling of relief washed over the room.

"So, it wasn't a lurker bite?" _Apparently he does..._

"If it was, the fever would have already set in and her temperature would be through the roof." With that, Nick stormed to the door and shoved it open letting it slam shut behind him. Luke, looking pretty pissed, went after him.

Olly was conflicted. She didn't know whether to stay and keep an eye on Clem or go and try and prevent another argument. Deciding that Clementine was in good hands, she went with the latter. "Okay, I best go and try and diffuse that... You're going to be okay, right, Clementine?" She hesitated, then nodded. She gave the little girl a reassuring smile. "Good. Back soon." Olly ran out and followed the sound of the heated conversation between the two friends.

"Just go and apologize to her, for goodness sake!"

"Apologize for what!? Tryin' to look out for the group!?"

"Stop it! Both of you! It's finished now, okay? You were all pretty stupid for lockin' her in a shed in the first place. Seriously though, Nick? That girl deserves an apology. Not for lockin' her in a shed, we all own that. No, for nearly blowing her god damn head off! So for God's sake, grow some balls and apologize!"

Luke sighed and rubbed his head lightly. "I'm going to get the girl some food, she looks starved."

Nick remained silent for a moment, peering down at his feet. "I'll apologize." Olly nodded and then Nick followed after Luke. With the moment of peace she now possessed, she breathed a sigh of relief. _I can't do this anymore... I can't care. It's too dangerous to. I'll lose everything again._ Olivia then decided she should check up on, Clem. She entered the dining room to find her filling her face with food and Luke talking to her from across the table. Nick must have already left.

"- What's your plan?" They both glanced up at the doorway, when they saw Olly appear leaning against it and shared a nod of acknowledgement.

"I don't know. I'm kind of on my own now."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here if you want. Y'can let yourself heal up and take some time to sort things out." _He had given me the same offer. People like Luke are too few in this world now. I'm going to miss him._

"Do you think everyone else will be okay with it?"

"They'll just have to deal with it." _It's good to see that __Clementine seems to have relaxed __a lot __around Luke now. He'll look after he__r__ well. __He wont admit it, but he's managed to look after this disorganized lot for a long time, he can manage one resourceful little girl._

"So... what happened to your parents...? If you don't mind me asking. I mean, I assume what happened to them is what happened to just about everyone's parents."

"Luke.."

He glanced to her, but ignored Olly's obvious warning."You're just so young... didn't think you could've made it on your own so long, but maybe you did."

"Other people took care of me, if that's what your asking."

"I was just curious how you made it this far."

"I just tried to stay with good people and not do anything dumb." Clementine stopped eating and just stared at her bowl, a brows creased in to a sorrowful expression.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't have asked." _I did try warning you._ _Things like this, should only be spoken about if the person brings up the conversation first. __It's too difficult otherwise._

"My parents went on vacation and left me with a babysitter and they never came back. We went to Savannah to find them-"

"Wait... Y- your parents went to Savannah?" Clementine nodded. "I... I grew up there." Memories of boat trips, walks on the docks, and movie nights with dad flooded her mind. More prominantly, visions of her and her father toppling over the side of the boat tortured her mind. It was too much. Olly fled to the safety of her room and flung her father's hat on the ground beside the bed along wth her treasured katana. Her head in her hands, she sat and sobbed. Her hope was dwindling more and more each day and the fear of never finding her father paralysed her. If mention of her homeplace did this to her still, how could she survive this world by herself?

Olivia was aware that someone had come in to her room. She knew it was, Luke. He crept over to her and sat beside her on the bed, placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in to a soft hug, cradling her until the tears deceased. _Yeah, people like Luke are far and few..._


	7. Chapter 7 - The Intruder

**This took me a VERY long time to write, so hopefully it's worth it.**

TWD Story Chapter 7 – The Intruder.

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They're going to be okay, you know?" Luke watched Olly's pacing around the living room with an amused expression. Her hair flurried as she walked, her cap attempting to conceal her concerned expression.

"I know... I'm not worried."

"Oh, is that right? Is that why you've been wearing holes in the floorboards for an hour now. Oh and I also don't think you have any fingernails left, you've been biting them that much." Olly stopped. Removed her hand from her mouth, glared at Luke and then sighed and plonked herself on the couch beside him. Carlos, Rebecca and Alvin were in the kitchen discussing plans for the future. So they said. Pete had taken Nick and Clementine out to the fish traps in the hope they had caught something this morning. Leaving her with Nick still left her unsettled. And as usual, Sarah remained upstairs. The young girl, a little older than Clementine physically, but definitely not mentally, had tried to speak to Olivia a couple of times. She stopped after awhile. _Carlos probably warned her against it, afraid I'd be a bad influence on her. _"You still plannin' on leavin' us?"

Olly turned to the unexpected question, a frown appearing to contrast with her graceful face. Realisation hit her quickly and struck her at full force. "Now I know why you kept me in here away from the others, whilst they spoke about their 'future plans'."

Luke smiled to himself. "I'm just curious, Oliver. I don't want to tell you what to do or anythin'." Suddenly, his tone changed to concern. "I'm just worried about you. Last night you were..."Olivia shot him a warning stare. "I just mean... I want to understand why."

She sighed. "Family is important, right?"

Luke nodded. "It's the most important thing there is."

"Precisely. Your family is here. You've made this your family, but my dad is still out there somewhere. I know he is and I have to find him so I can be at peace."

Luke understood. His real family were dead, but now he had an adopted family he cared for. However, his heart had room for more and a little piece of it was taken every time he lost someone. His heart had always been stronger than his head. It would be his downfall. "So, which way you thinkin' of heading?"

"North. It's supposed to be better there. I heard rumors that the cold slows them down, and maybe my dad heard them too. If he did, that's where he will be."

There was a moment of silence between the two, as if an understanding had been reached. However, Luke's thoughts were plagued by the notion of losing someone else and Olly's were being swallowed up by fear of isolation once more. If she failed, if she wasn't able find him... she'd die alone. "Well, I'm sure as hell gonna miss you, Oliver." Olly turned to him, with a sorrowful expression followed by a grateful one. She didn't know if it was going to be awkward, but she wrapped her arms around his neck. Luke tensed slightly in surprise, then chuckled and returned the tight hug, placing the crook of his nose on her shoulder.

"I'll miss you too, Lucy."

The moment was interrupted by Rebecca who waddled in to the room, a hand placed on her oversized belly. Olivia awkwardly released Luke and shifted a long the sofa away from him. Rebecca scoffed at them, as the couple exchanged glances to one another with amused expressions, like a couple of teenagers who just got caught together by their parents. The woman continued her waddle upstairs and once she was out of earshot, the pair burst out laughing.

Once they had managed to catch their breath, Luke coughed. "So, er... They've been gone a long while, huh."

Panic flared inside Olly. "W-wait... How long has it been?"

Luke shrugged, trying to remain indifferent but he was worried too. "They left pretty early this morning... it looks like it's getting dark out." Olly peered out the window and he was right. The sky had its red tint which it only possessed during sundown. "I'll take Alvin and go out to look for them." Luke got up from the couch and went to go tell the plan to the others, but Olivia followed.

"Yeah, I'll come too."

"No, I need you here. In case they come back."

"Fuck that! Clementine is still out there and-"

"And I thought you were leaving!" Luke had squared up to her now, a scowl like no other. It was a cheap shot, but it did the trick. He sighed. "Stay here. I'mma take Alvin." He left, and Olivia felt nothing but confliction. He was right. She was supposed to be leaving, but the thought of that poor girl being trapped somewhere, or worse, sucked. Storming into the kitchen, She noticed Luke had strapped his machete to his back and Alvin had grabbed a gun and was loading the magazine.

"You'll be back soon, right?"

"We'll try, Carlos. I promise."

The doctor nodded and then turned to Alvin. "Shouldn't you tell, Rebecca?"

"No, she'll only try and stop me. Let her know where I got to after I've left."

"Hey! I'm comin' with you."

"No, Olivia. You're not. Stay here and look after Sarah and Rebecca. Carlos will need help with Rebecca especially." Luke faked a smile, but it wasn't convincing.

"You best go. I'll make sure she doesn't follow." Luke mouthed 'thank you' to Carlos and then followed after Alvin who had already left.

Olivia stamped her foot and perched herself on a chair in the kitchen with her chin resting on her hand. "This is such bullshit."

Carlos scowled at her childlike demeanor. "Well, whilst you pout like a small child, I'm going to go tell Rebecca where her husband is." He trudged out the room and shut the door behind him. Leaving Olly to be isolated once more.

Hours had passed and no word had arrived. Rebecca, Carlos and Olly huddled around the kitchen table awaiting news in silence. They had all attempted to eat, but to no avail. They were too worried to eat. Rebecca sat cradling her belly, as if it would reunite her with Alvin. Carlos sat straight, with his arm resting on the table. The only sound in the room, coming from Olly, who sat slouched, tapping her feet, twiddling her thumbs and biting her lip. _I knew it was dangerous. I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached. Now what am I supposed to do? It was bad enough having to worry about a little girl, now I'm worrying about a little girl and the only friend I have in this world, Luke. Shit. It's true... Luke is the only friend I have. The only certain thing in this world is that fact. As much as I don't want to admit it, it's not certain whether my dad is still alive. It's not certain I'll ever find out. What is certain is that I care for Clementine and Luke far more than I should._

With that, the back door shot open and in ran Clementine, clutching her backpack, panting heavily. "Clementine! Are you alright?" Olly shot to her side and knelt beside her, checking her over. _Damn __maternal__ feelings. _

"Luke's not with you?" Clementine turned to Carlos with a puzzled expression.

"Where's Alvin!?"

Olly scowled at Rebecca for her sharp tone and then turned back to Clementine and spoke softly. "What happened, Clem?"

"It's been hours. Where are they?!"

"Let me handle this, Carlos! Talk to me, Clem. What happened?"

Clem hesitated. "Pete got bit."

"WHAT?!" Rebecca's shocked, disbelieving tone was masked by Carlos' calm nature.

"What happened?"

Clem looked down to her feet, sadness glazing her dark eyes. "Walkers." The air felt heavy in the room. Olly placed a comforting hand on Clementine's shoulder, whilst Carlos and Rebecca took a moment to recover from the shock.

"My god."

"Where were you? Where were you exactly?!"

"Back off, Rebecca!"

"It's okay, Olly. Down by the stream."

Rebecca confronted Carlos. "We gotta go."

"Just hold on a minute."

"My husband is still out there! GET. THE. GUNS." Carlos glanced between each person, then frowned and ran for the weapons.

"Clem, Luke and Alvin went out searching for you and the others. They haven't come back." Clementine's sad eyes met Olly's and she nodded in understanding.

Carlos came running back and handed Rebecca a hunting rifle. "Woah, woah! You can't seriously expect me to stay behind again!"

"I need someone to take care of Sarah. Besides, Clementine needs you."

Olly, feeling defeated, sighed and nodded. "Carlos... just make sure you bring them back." It wasn't said, but Carlos knew she meant Luke. He acknowledged it with a shake of his head and then dashed off after Rebecca. Olivia turned to Clementine who seemed to be lost in thought. "Hey. None of this is your fault, you know. Don't go blaming yourself." The little girl nodded. "How about you go and check on Sarah. I think she'll need some comforting. She's not as ignorant as Carlos would like." Clem agreed and trudged upstairs looking completely deflated. _Poor girl. I dread to think about the things she must have seen._

Olly perched herself on the sofa and removed her dad's cap, tracing her hand along the tattered seams. _I wish I knew where you were dad. _A few minutes later a pitter patter of little feet was heard coming down the stairs and Olivia placed the cap back on her head. Looking up, she saw Sarah followed by Clementine making there way towards her. "Luke's back!"

"What?" Olly stands up straight at the mention of his name.

"Yeah, I just saw him. He's comin' down the-" Sarah stopped and Stared out the window. All of a sudden, she began to hyperventilate. "Tha- that... I think I know him. Olivia, I can't breath." A sharp knocking is heard from the from the front door.

"Okay, look... Sarah go hide. Clem, I need you stay in certain places to try and steer him away from Sarah, okay? Any place which will still allow Sarah to move if she has to. I'm gonna try get rid of him." Olly stalked her way over to the door, once there, she lifted a hand in an attempt to lock it, but before she was able the door was pushed open.

"Hello there." Olly took the opportunity to try and remember every feature of this man. In case it was who she suspected it may be. He looked to be middle-aged, with evident crease lines on his forehead. His nose was pointed and he had small squinty eyes that just screamed distrustful. He had jet black hair that looked far too groomed, which contrasted with his messy mustache and unshaven stubble. This was Carver. She was sure of it.

"Leave. Now. Me and my sister don't want any trouble." She would have to play ignorant to anything he said, let him know she meant business, but not provoke him... She had left her katana upstairs and possessed no weapon. She couldn't do anything that may get Clementine hurt.

"Sister?" Olly stepped to the side to allow him a small viewing of Clementine, in the hopes it would throw him off guard. "Hm. Well, I don't mean you no harm, honey. I promise you that." Olivia cringed at the use of the word 'honey', but tried to keep her eyes void of emotion. "My family and I are set up a ways down-river. I'm kind of surprised we haven't run into each other yet. What's your names?"

"Heh. Funny. Now leave." Olly unleashed the deadliest glare she could manage, but it didn't seem to faze him. He pushed past her, leaving her to hit the wall hard.

"I don't mean to disturb you, but I think you could help me." The 'mysterious man' trudged in to the living, inspecting high and low "This is a nice place. So, is it just you and your sister?"

"I don't see how that's any of your concern, but yes. It's just me and my sister."

"I see. I'm impressed. Well, I'll cut to the chase; I'm out lookin' for my people. Seven of them to be exact-" The man continued to wander around, whilst Clementine kept moving in to different positions to block his path to Sarah. Olly was inspired. She was doing it in a way that wasn't even obvious. _Smart Girl... _"They've been gone a long while... and I'm worried they might've gotten lost. Maybe you've seen 'em. Couple of farm boys and an old man... Spanish guy and his daughter. Quiet girl, a bit taller than your sister over there. A black guy, this big-" He held out his arms, gesturing the exact size of Alvin... "And a pretty little pregnant lady."

"That's a lot of people to lose." The man's eyes turned to Clementine when she spoke.

"Tell me about it. The whole damn thing's a pain in the ass." The stranger decided he was done with this room and poked his head in to the kitchen and Olly gestured for Clem to guard the door and protect Sarah, before following after him. The man was pacing the room, taking in everything he could. There was no doubt in Olivia's mind. This dark figure was Carver. "Lotta plates for two people. Looks like a tornado ran through here." _Oh, snap..._

"Me and my sister haven't been here very long. We move around a lot. Those were already here when we arrived. Not that I see any reason you should care." _That excuse was good, right?_

Olivia spotted the knife on the counter beside her, and measured up whether she should make a grab for it. The guy seemed like he was mulling over what I'd already told him in his head. It was a good opportunity... but he persisted.

"Hey, I hope you're not one of those nuts headed up north, lookin' for Shangri-La. Now I'm not sure why'd you go anywhere after finding this place."

Olly scowled at him. "Actually, yes. We're headed north. Not for Shangri-La though... I have my own agenda."

"Hm, you'll have to tell me about it some time. A whole lot of people headed that way lately. Me, I don't get it. Just as much nothin' up there as there is down here. And I can't stand that yankee weather." Olly remained silent. "You know, you have a very distinctive eye colour, I think I -" Both of them turned to the sound of the kitchen door opening. Clementine stood by the door, glaring at the intruder. He smiled and waved, which she ignored. Then he turned back to Olly and saw her eyeballing the knife that lay on the side. He strolled forward and grasped the handle, holding it up in the air. "Where does this go?" Olivia tensed but then pointed to the draw behind him, and he places it carefully inside. Then suddenly, he turns and strolls out past Clementine in to the living room. Clem then moves back to her original position in to continue to conceal Sarah.

"You need to leave."

The man ignored her. "Well this is a real nice place. Kinda cozy." He wandered a little further, as if still convincing himself they were here. He looked down at the couch. "I knew a guy that always wore shirts like this. Doctor. Real smug son of a bitch. But a smart man. I miss him."

It was difficult for Olly to keep her composure. She wanted this monster gone. "That's nice. Now. Leave." It hadn't escaped Olivia's notice that Clementine was allowing Sarah access to the upstairs. The game was almost given away, however, when a wooden floorboard creaked above their heads. The man smiled, but Clementine blocked the way to the stairs. "I thought you said it was just you and your sister."

"It IS just me and my sister." The intruder gestured for the little girl to move, but when she refused he pushed her aside. "Hey! What d'ya think you're doing!?" He ignored her and continued his ascent upstairs. Olly turned to Clementine in hushed tones."Okay, Clem. Stay here, okay? Keep a lookout for the others. Warn them if they come." The girl nodded and then Olivia ran upstairs after the man she was convinced was Carver, who had unholstered his gun. "Hey! Get the fuck out!" He charged in to the end bedroom, pointing his revolver around, prepared to fire. When he saw nothing, he lowered his weapon, but didn't lower his guard. Olly looked down to see Sarah's head poking out from under the bed, then she moved to block any view of the girl. "I told you, nobody's here. Now fuckin' leave."

"Hm, seems that way." He reholstered his gun, then turned back to the fiery red head. "Didn't mean to be rude. Couldn't just leave two young women here with a good conscience if someone was pokin' around, right?" Olly scoffed. The man seemed to be leaving, until his gaze turned to something on the floor. In his hand lay a picture of Sarah... _Damn it, Sarah. _"Who's this?"

"How the fuck should I know?" Olivia put on a brave face, but her heart was hammering against her chest.

"Looks like it was taken in this room." Olly shrugged, trying to look indifferent.

"You have no idea who these people are, do you?" _Fuck. He's one smart son of a bitch._

"I have no idea what the fuck you're talkin' about, but I'd like you to leave now so my sister can rest."

"Lemme ask you this, when you met 'em, how much did they trust you?" _It was no use, this guy knew. I failed._

"Leave."

"Heh. Well, I think I've troubled you long enough. I can let myself out." He plodded past her and down the stairs winking at Clementine as he went. When Olly heard the door slam shut, she breathed a sigh of relief. Kneeling down, she assisted Sarah on coming out from under the bed.

"Is everyone okay?" Clementine stood in the doorway, concern plastered on her face.

"We're fine, Clem." Olly dusted off Sarah, who was still shaking.

"W-what if he comes back?"

"Then he'd be a real dumb son of a bitch, because next time... I'll be ready."

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll try and get the next chapter up real quick, but I can't put off my revision any longer, unfortunately. I also hope you didn't mind the changes made. I still wanted Clementine to play an important part, but I need Carver to see Olly. For my own agenda. **


	8. Chapter 8 - Moving out

TWD Chapter 8 - Moving out.

* * *

Clementine and Olivia gathered on the couches, attempting to calm Sarah down. The room seemed dark and the air felt heavy. Dust particles surrounded them, the fire almost burned out. The cabin was no longer the cosy home it once was, now it was just a trap that had just snapped shut. "They'll be back soon, Sarah. Your dad too." Olly looked awkwardly over at Clementine who seemed to be growing even more impatient.

"We need to find the others." She jumped off the sofa, and stormed to the kitchen.

"Clem, we can't-" Within that, the kitchen door swung open and stood immediately in the doorway was Nick, followed by the rest of the group.

"Clementine!"

"Sarah!" The innocent girl ran to her dad and enclosed her arms around him.

Luke gave a nod of acknowledgement to Olly then turned to Clementine. "They told me about Pete. You know where he is, right? Come on, let's go."

Sarah released her dad and frowned, looking to the ground. "A man was here."

"What?!" Carlos' startled expression just reassured Olly's theory that this stranger was indeed Carver and they had been expecting this for some time.

"What did she say?" _Here we go... Round 100 for Rebecca._

"Someone came to the cabin. Olly and Clementine talked to him."

Rebecca's furious gaze turned on Olivia. "And you just opened the door for him?"

"Calm down, Rebecca." _Luke, always the voice of reason._

"Of course I didn't! I tried to lock the door, but he barged his way through."

"She's telling the truth." Olivia smiled at Sarah with gratitude and the shy girl smiled back.

Carlos' shock seemed to dissipate, but he was no longer the calm and collected character Olly had grown accustomed to. "Did he say his name? Did he say what his name was?"

Me and Clementine shook our heads. "No, he didn't. However, I'm pretty sure even I could guess that one."

Rebecca shook her head in disbelief. "Maybe it wasn't him."

"Could you tell us what he looked like?"

"Sure I can, Carlos. He had dark hair that was far too tidy. A deep voice.."

"He talked about you, dad." Carlos scratched his beard, looking more furious than he'd ever been. "You're not going to hurt anyone, are you?"

"Of course he wont, Sarah, all right? Your dad's the nicest person I know, which is why he's not going to do anything crazy or... not nice. Right?" Luke stared at Carlos as if passing on a non-verbal message.

Carlos placed a reassuring hand on Sarah's back. "You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will do or say anything to hurt us."

Luke turned to Olly and Clementine. "All right, what do you two think? Did it seem like he'd be coming back?"

Olivia opened her mouth to be speak, but Sarah cut her off. "He saw a picture of me."

"A picture?! What were you doing taking pictures?!"

"Carlos! You need to calm down, all right? You're scaring your daughter."

"I took the picture. It's my fault." Clementine stood defiant as she defended her friend, Sarah.

"No! It wasn't her fault. She didn't want to."

"Sarah?" Carlos sighed, defeated and Sarah lowered her eyes in regret. People were getting nervous. Rebecca stood stroking her stomach with Alvin's arm around her shoulder whilst Nick paced around the room. Luke stood beside Olly trying to give her reassuring glances, whilst Clem stood by Sarah, giving her comforting pats on the shoulder. "He was scouting. We got lucky. He wasn't expecting to find us. Olivia and Clementine must have surprised him. If they hadn't been there..." The group glanced at the duo, there faces holding more gratitude than they could ever say. "Well, he was too smart to stick around. But he'll be back with the rest. We don't have much time."

"He's right. Everyone pack up. We're movin' out." Luke agreed.

"Where are we going?" Olly was agitated. She had never meant to get involved in this.

Carlos turned to Clementine and Olivia after comforting his daughter. "I don't know what he told you, but William Carver is a dangerous man. He is the leader of a camp not far from here, and he is very smart. We were... lucky to escape. Look, I'm sorry to involve you two, but now that he's seen you, you'll be safer with us."

"Wait.. WHAT?" Olly looked at the groups' bemused expressions, whilst Luke just gave her a sorrowful glance.

"Weren't you planning on sticking around anyway, Olivia?"

"What? No, I wasn't! I was going to find my dad!"

Luke couldn't take this. He couldn't face losing someone else, especially if Pete was really gone. "Wait, wait a minute. We'll be headin' off north too, right? It makes sense to. You could travel with us. It'll be safer for you in a group."

Luke's words mulled in her mind. Maybe she wouldn't have to say goodbye after all. Her gaze met his, who patiently, yet eagerly, awaited her response. "Ok." One simple word eased Luke's inner turmoil, giving her a flash smile.

"Now that is sorted, we have to leave." Carlos' serious presence followed Sarah out of the room, ready to prepare her for departure.

"We have to find Pete, Luke."

"We'll get him on the way out, Nick. Clementine, you know where he was, right?"

"Yeah..."

"All right. Everyone grab your stuff. Let's hit the road."

* * *

After Olivia had dashed upstairs and packed up her things, ensuring her trusty katana had been slung over shoulder and her revolver had been placed in her pack, they all went in search of Pete. Clementine took the lead, with Luke and Olly by her side. Behind them was Nick, who looked like he could go off the rails at any moment, his pained expression causing Luke to worry. Alvin and Rebecca were just behind Nick, whilst Carlos and Sarah took the rear. "Now, you said it was just up here?"

"Yeah, just a little ways." Luke responded by picking up his pace. Olivia opted to stay by Clementine, but with a waddling character speeding up to join them.

"Hey, Clem... Sorry if I gave you some shit back there. I'm just a little on edge. It's just a tough time, with the pregnancy and all."

"It's okay."

"If it's not you I'm yellin' at lately, it's Alvin... or Olivia, and then I'm really in trouble." Rebecca and her shared a glance in which Olly nodded as in to acknowledge that she was apologising.

"I can handle it. I'm not a little kid."

"I felt the same way when I was your age. My dad was always givin' me shit, and I always thought he didn't know a damn thing. I know you both did your best back there. You know, none of us would make it on our own. Sometimes it's hard knowing just how dependant I am on everyone. I'm not used to that, I'm not comfortable with that." Olly knew what she meant. She had relied on so many people before and she had promised herself that she'd never go through that again. But here she was. Relying on Luke to keep his promise and take her North. "I'm supposed to be a mom soon. Guess I need to work on my patience. Alvin and I still don't know what to call her. Or him, if that man gets his wish, god help me. Any ideas?" Clementine didn't respond, but instead turned off down through some bushes. "Clem?"

Luke who had glanced around, followed after her. As did the others. In front of them lay a rusty red truck, surrounded by overgrown plantation and shrubbery. Dead roamer corpses littered the area, destroying what might make a beautiful view. The leading girl slowly approached the vehicle, but stopped just in front of it. "There. That's where we were." Clem gestured to the back door of the truck that had been left ajar.

Nick sprinted towards it, panic claiming his features. He ripped open the doors only to find it empty. "He's not in here!"

"This was the last place I saw him."

"Maybe he's around here somewhere." Alvin offered. Nick's face twisted in to fury, whilst the group split up the look for Pete.

"Keep your eyes open and stay in sight." Carlos ordered the group, clutching his hunting rifle. Olly searched the ground for any clues on where he might have gone, and noticed a trail of blood that Clementine was already following. _This isn't good.. this isn't good at all. _

"Uncle Pete!"

Both Clementine and Olivia stalked closer and closer to the end of the trail, their hearts beating like cheetahs sprinting in the wild. And there, behind a large rock, lay a very dead Pete, his insides spilled out on the ground and his body in a precarious position. Olly shielded Clem from the view and guided her away slightly. "Luke! Nick! We found him..."

Tentatively, Nick stepped forward, closely followed by Luke. "Oh my god." Nick's voice was breaking as he tried to choke out his words. "What happened? What the hell happened?"

Carlos' cool demeanour taking over once more. "He's been shot."

Clementine stared down at the gunshot wound, confusion racking her brain. "He didn't have a gun. Who did this?"

Nick, full of despair, turned to his old friend, Luke, who embraced him comfortingly.

"We need to go."

"Carlos is right. Whoever shot him could still be around."

Luke acknowledged what Olly said and then placed a soothing hand on Nick's shoulder, whilst everyone else left Pete's grave. "He's gone, Nick. He- He's gone. We gotta get movin'. Come on, man." Stubbornly, Nick shrugged Luke off and followed after the others.

Olivia turned to see a very grief stricken group behind her and suddenly she realised she was grieving too. Pete had been a kind man, he had also been the first to believe Clementine about her bite and at the time she hadn't even acknowledged it. Olly sighed. She'd done it again. This was her group now, and she'd do her god damned best to ensure they didn't lose another member.


	9. Chapter 9 - Keep walking on

**Okay so, I took a bit of a risk and decided to write a chapter on the traveling that occurs which isn't seen in the game during those 5 days. Let me know what you think.**

TWD Chapter 9 - Keep walking on.

* * *

**Two days after leaving the cabin...**

"I-I need to rest." The group turned to see an exhausted looking pregnant lady, being guided by her husband whilst trailing behind the rest of them. At the minute, they were in the middle of the woodlands with no obvious opening, and no place to stay.

Everyone came to a stop, whilst mulling over what to do next. Luke spoke first. "Okay, it's gettin' dark anyway, so we'll have to be quick if we want to find somewhere to rest for the night. Oliver, you up for some scoutin'?"

Olly smiled at the pet name and then nodded, readjusting her cap. "Sure, **Lucy**."

"Can I come?" Both Luke and Olivia turned to face the brave little girl looking up at them with her big puppy eyes.

"Not today, Clem." Her smile visibly fell and Luke instantly felt guilty. Carlos nodded in approval to him which just made it worse. Luke knew Clem could handle it. She was tough.

"We'll take you next time, okay? Lord knows you can handle yourself, but two people is enough for this job." He received a nod of appreciation from her, which allowed him to relax. "Okay, you ready? We're burnin' daylight." Olly indicated she was with a dip of her head and then they set off further in to the trees.

Olivia tried to take in as much as the scenery as she could, to ensure they would be able to find their way back. "Think we'll find any place?"

Luke shrugged. "Not sure, but even if it's just a clear, safe area where we can set up camp, that'd be enough." There was a hesitant pause. "I-I'm glad you decided to stick with us by the way. The thought of you being out here alone-" Luke scratched his neck awkwardly.

Her shocked expression spoke many things to Luke. Sometimes he wondered how long it'd been since anyone showed they cared for her. "Well, er- I've managed it before."

"Oh, that's funny because I seem to recall finding a girl almost starved to death." Olly scowled at him, but couldn't help but be amused by his audacious grin.

"You're an ass." She elbowed him lightly in the ribs resulting in fits of laughter from them both. Their hysterics, however, were drowned out by the sound of groaning, gradually making its way closer to them. They both cautiously unsheathed their weapons, scouting the bushes surrounding their path. "Luke, behind you!" jumping forward from the trees, a group of roamers clattered out, their claws gnashing at anything they could grasp. Luke dodged the one closest to him, but tumbled backwards, another crashing on top of him, it's teeth attempting to grasp his flesh. "Luke!" Olly called out in panic. Scared she'd slice him also, she kicked the roamer off of him and then stabbed the katana's blade in to it's brain.

"Olly, watch out!" Two more came tumbling forwards, barely having enough time to remove the blade from the one she'd already killed, she managed to behead the one closest to her. Luke dragged himself off the ground and sliced in to the other. He then placed a protective arm against her stomach as if to shield her from the remaining two. "You get the one on the right, I'll get the left." With that, they both charged forward. Olivia glided her weapon down in to the brains of the rotting corpse, whilst Luke rammed his machete in to his target's mouth and pulled it up until the roamer fell to the floor, dead.

They both crouched panting heavily, sweat dripping down their brow and adrenaline coursing through their veins. Once they had both regained their composure, they stood up straight. "A-are you okay, Luke?"

"Me? Yeah, I-I'm fine. That was a close one, huh?" Olly nodded, and gazed upon her weapon which now dripped with rotted blood. "..Are you okay?"

"W-what? Oh... yeah, I'm fine." In honesty, she wasn't fine. Her body was shaking and her legs felt unsupported. She could have lost him. This fear was new to her. This was something different. The fear and protective maternal feelings she had for Clementine felt a lot less complicated than how this felt. This was unexplainable...

Olly shook her head, as if to wipe the thoughts from her mind, but Luke could tell something was bothering her, but didn't persist upon it. "You ready to keep going?"

She sighed. "Yeah." They both wiped their weapons on the grass before sheathing them once again. They set off through a passage in the opposite direction the beasts came from, no longer willing to risk dropping their guard. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, no. Not really. Just grazed my elbows, that's all." He half smiled at her to reassure her he was being honest.

"Well, just... just try to be more careful, okay?"

"Wow, was that you **expressing** concern, Oliver?" She smiled, but remained silent. "Well, the same applies to yourself of course." Luke wasn't sure when it had happened, but this girl with her emerald gemmed eyes and her illuminous red hair, had wormed her way into his heart. He didn't know what it was about her, but she was unlike anyone he'd ever met. She was serious, yet funny. She was cold, yet kind. She was cunning, yet honest. Nothing about her made sense, but she made sense to him. And yet, all he was able to think about was the fact that this was the worst time to get involved with anyone. I mean, they were being chased by a mad man and they had **already** screwed up by getting her and Clementine involved in the first place. Now, they were both in danger... and in large part, it was his fault.

"Hey, Luke. Look." Olly gestured towards an opening in the woods that was completely isolated and covered by shrubbery. The perfect place to set up camp, whilst staying incognito.

"Great job! Let's go back and tell the others."

* * *

"Okay so- Do you want the good news or bad news?" The group turned quickly at the sound of Luke's voice, relief washing over them all at the sight of the two safe and sound. Clementine ran over to them both, a huge smile on her face.

However, Carlos' eyes trailed down to their blooded clothing and grim look fell upon his face. "What happened?"

Olly followed Carlos' gaze and looked upon rot stained material that clung to their bodies. "Erm... well... We ran in to a bit of trouble. Nothing we couldn't handle though."

Clementine looked bemused. "Maybe if you'd taken me with you, I could have helped."

Luke knelt down in front of her and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. "I'll take you next time, okay?" She nodded then returned to Rebecca's side, who was still struggling with exhaustion and fatigue. Since Rebecca's apology to both Clementine and Olivia, tension had been eased greatly in the group. The only trouble they had was Nick, who was being hit hard by the death of his uncle, Pete. Luke was constantly worrying about him, afraid he'd do something stupid.

Carlos sighed. "I think we could all use some good news right now, Luke."

"What? Oh right, yeah. Well the good news is, me and Olly managed to find a place for us to rest the night."

"Okay... so what's the bad news?" The group waited for a response to Carlos' question with uneasy expressions.

"It's no place comfortable. We'd have to set up camp and we probably wouldn't get that finished before nightfall.-" The look of disappointment was evident on each group member's face. "B-but it's safe! The bushes around it conceal the whole area. There's only one sure way to get through it and if a couple of people took turns keepin' watch, there's no way anythin' could happen."

"We don't have much choice, do we." It wasn't a question. Rebecca sighed, obviously feeling she was a burden on the group. Olivia and Luke led the group through the forest, retracing their steps, sometimes stopping to ensure they were going the right way. It hadn't gone unnoticed by the rest of them how they'd often shoot glances at each other and how Olly seemed to only let her guard down around him. If it weren't for Luke, they probably would never have realised that she did indeed have a sense of humor behind that cold glare. Rebecca had spoken about it to Carlos and Alvin briefly when they had both wandered in to the forest for her. The others didn't think much of it, but the way Luke looked at her... she'd never seen him be like that before.

Olly recognised the dismembered corpses her and Luke had taken down as they past them. "Not much further, guys." They nodded and continued the trek on the barely visible footpaths to their location. Once they finally arrived, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Luke and Carlos got to work on setting up the camp, whilst Alvin comforted his wife who had been really feeling the strain. Olivia decided she needed to spend some quality time with Clementine who had been trying to humor Sarah a lot more than she could probably handle.

"Hey, Clem. How're you feeling?" Olly sat by Clementine who was cross-legged on a patch of grass.

"Okay, I think." She looked down at her hands, a small frown appearing on her face that went as quick as it had arrived. An unobservant person might not have even seen it all.

"You can talk to me, Clem. What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about my friend, Christa." Luke had spoken to her on this subject after Clementine had indulged them with more about her life before she joined up with the group.

Olivia could empathize with not knowing how a person was or where they were. It was torture, but she didn't need to tell Clementine that. "You know, your cap is much cooler than mine. Where'd you get it?" Olly gestured to the blue and white (if you could call it that. It wasn't very white any more)" hat on the top of Clem's head who unknowingly placed a hand on the rim.

"My dad gave it to me." The heart-rending look on the girl's face told Olly that she shouldn't pursue this line of questioning, but her thoughts immediately turned to her own dad. She sighed, her emotions now matching Clementine's, and turned to face Luke who seemed to be giving her a very concerned expression. She smiled at him as if to assure him she was fine, but it didn't seem to appease him. He attempted to return it, but his crease lines were still visible with worry. Olly mouthed 'I'm okay' and only then did Luke continue his work. Carlos had began lighting a fire now, whilst Luke continued setting up the beds. By the time they had both finished and food was bubbling over the fire, the day had turned to night and they all gathered round the heat source, talking in hushed tones.

"So, who's taking watch duty tonight?" Luke asked whilst steering the cooking pot, filled with goodness knows what.

"I'll do it." Nick mumbled, whilst running his hands over his rifle.

Luke was conflicted. He wanted to give Nick something to take his mind of things, but he couldn't trust him to protect the group, not whilst he was in the state he was. "Er, actually Nick... I think someone else should do it."

Nick scowled at him. "You don't think I'm capable of watching a pathway!?"

Luke's startled eyes scouted the tree lines, in fear that someone or something may hear him. "Quieten down, Nick. I'm not saying that. I'm just sayin' that you've been through a lot and you need to catch up on sleep."

"Luke's right, Nick. This has been a tough time for all of us, but you especially. Just rest up for the night." Rebecca finished with a smile, in the hopes that Nick wouldn't refuse, which he didn't. He just got up from the camp site and sprawled out on one of the makeshift beds.

"Well, I offer to take one watch tonight..."

"Heh. No way, Luke!" Olivia glared at him fiercely. "You took one yesterday and one the night before that. You're exhausted! Me and Alvin will do it tonight, right Alvin?"

"Sure thing, if that's okay with you Becks?" She hesitates, then nods slowly.

Luke sighed. "Okay, I guess that's sorted then. Who will take first watch?" Olly quickly pointed to herself. "All right then. We better eat up because we'll have an early start tomorrow."

Soon after, everyone had finished eating, apart from Nick who went to bed without supper. It didn't take long for an exhausted group to fall fast asleep, dreaming about a life better than the hell they lived in now. Olivia had ensured that Clementine slept near her or Luke at all times. He was the only one she trusted to look out for her. It was petty because it was a pretty tight packed group, but everyone else had someone who they had been around forever, and if given the choice, would save them over her. She didn't want the girl in that position.

The red head took the place set up for her, giving her a good view down the entrance path. It was pitch black, the only light coming from the embers of the camp fire. She had a torch on standby in case she needed it, but she didn't want anything shining in the bushes giving them away. Olly took a moment to gaze upon the sleeping bodies beside her, a small smile visible on her face. If she never found her family, at least she had this one.

* * *

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: Hey, guys. I've added this disclaimer at the bottom because I've been accused of plagiarization because my OC has a similar name to an OC already on this site. I just want to clear this up so there is no more confusion. I've been in contact with the writer from the other story because they received a message about the similarities, also. I was aware that this story existed as just before I had started writing my own, I noticed theirs and because Luke/OC stories are far and few, I decided to check it out. I read the first few lines and then began my own. The similarities may have been an unconscious decision on my part but I don't think there are that many similarities between the two to become worried about it considering I didn't even finish the first chapter. Neither did the other writer and so we both agreed to just continue with our separate stories. Also, I'm using the dialogue from the game in the scenes that I haven't made because I'm not trying to rewrite the game, I'm just trying to incorporate my own character. I don't want to change any of the other character's plot lines or have their characters change how they speak. I never expected this story to get popular, I only did it for my own amusement, but since people are enjoying it I'm going to continue.**


	10. Chapter 10 - Hallelujah!

**Welcome back, guys! A lot of feels in this chapter. Enjoy!**

TWD Chapter 10 – Hallelujah!

* * *

3 days later...

"See anything?" The whole group had stopped a way off from a large bridge allowing time for them to get their bearings. Luke stood, map in hand whilst Clementine crawled up a rock with her binoculars to get a viewing of the surrounding area. Rebecca sat down on another pillar of stone nearby accompanied by Alvin. Carlos and Sarah were together not far from the married couple and Nick was sprawled out on the ground, putting on a brave but very broken face. Olivia, however, was spending a moment to herself. After last night... she needed time to think.

"_I think it's about time for my watch, don'tcha think?" Luke stretched out his arms and spoke in a muffled yawn, preparing himself for the nights watch. _

_Olivia scoffed. "Sounds like you could use some more time to sleep."_

"_Nah. I'm awake. You need to rest though. You've been working yourself too hard these past couple-a-days."_

"_I'm just trying to do my part." Luke scooted himself beside her on the small log Olivia had chosen for herself outside the abandoned cabin they had found. It was in a much poorer condition than the one they had made a little more permanent. It didn't matter much as they weren't planning on sticking around and it was away from the harshness of the weather outside, even if it was still terribly cold in there. That's more than what they could have hoped for however. It also allowed for a soft bed for Rebecca to sleep in which may ultimately mean less stops on the way of their destination tomorrow, as she may require less breaks._

"_You've done much more than just 'your part'... which has got me thinkin'."_

"_Uh oh. Try not to strain yourself too much." She winked at him playfully which he only just caught in the darkness. Even if he had not seen it, he knew she was joking by the humerous tone in her voice. _

_He nudged her slightly in the arm. "You cruel, cruel woman!" They both giggled slightly but soon hushed themselves when they realised their volume was increasing. _

"_So, what were yout thinking about?"_

_Luke didn't reply immediately. As if he were trying to piece together what he was going to say. Or maybe he was trying to come up with an excuse to back out of it. "It's just... you were so set on leaving us before... the Carver incident. The way you spoke, it was like nothing would get in your way, your dad was all that mattered-"_

"_And I suppose you want to know what changed?" Luke stared in to her large, sad eyes, as best he could in the shadows, looking for an inkling of whether he should persist with this. Deciding it was safe, he nodded and in response she sighed before glancing down at her hands. Twiddling her thumbs nervously, Olly breathed in heavily before steadily releasing said breath. "My heart changed." _

_Weighing up her response, Luke patiently waited for her to continue. When she didn't, his curiousity ensured he persisted himself. "What do you mean?" His heart filled with anticipation at the thought that just maybe... just maybe she had been thinking about him, like he had her. _

_Sighing once again, she gathered the strength to reveal her more secret feelings she kept safe and padlocked from everyone, even herself. "First, I thought it was Clementine keeping me here. I love that little girl so much... too much. It was like she was fixing my broken state because I was broken, Luke. I was." Luke silently agreed. He thought back to how he had found her; in pain, exhausted and starving. Barely alive even. "I had spent so long searching for my dad, disregarding anything else. I had been willing to do anything to find him. I was so convinced on finding something that may no longer exist that I forgot what it was like to have something real. That's what Clementine brought to me, something real. It was like I needed to fill a role for her, any role that kept her safe." Luke knew what she meant. He had taken on the role of protecting this group, if by instinct. He had gotten the same feeling when he found Olivia broken and Clementine bitten. "But then I realised it wasn't just Clem keeping me here... I cared for each of you. Pete, Nick, Carlos, Sarah, Alvin... Hell, even Rebecca! But, especially you." _

_Luke's heart lurched in his chest and butterflies grew in his stomach. The feeling was a true indication of how he viewed this fiery redhead. Luke was usually the type to think things through rationally and sensibly, but when it came to Olivia, that went straight out the window and across the street. When he was around her, his rationality dissipated and was replaced with an inner turmoil of emotions. He knew the extent of it was a recent development. Of course he had always thought her to be beautiful, anyone would agree, but it had become less about her outer beauty and more about what was inside. Deep down, Olivia Phillips had a big heart which had survived a lot of loneliness and in that one moment, Luke wanted to take it all away._

_When she grew silent, Luke took her hand in his and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Her breath hitched slightly and instantly her cold skin turned warm. "Luke... I..." Feeling as reassured as ever by her reaction, he bravely leaned forwards with the intention of locking his lips with hers. He couldn't deny himself this, he wanted her to understand how he felt and he had never been a good talker when it came to 'feelings'. _

_He had been inches away before groans were heard to their left, just behind the nearby trees. The moment was instantly crushed and it was back to business. Olly unsheathed her katana and Luke his machete. Turning on her flashlight, Olly pointed it towards the noise, revealing the rotted faces of three roamers. The couple nodded to each other before advancing on the stumbling undead, who were gradually making their way towards their location. Olivia swung her katana horizontally, swiping off the head's of the two closest to her, whilst Luke brought his machete down on the one nearest to him. They both stood silently a second, listening out for any more that may be close by. After a few minutes of nothing, they both relaxed and the silence became awkward. _

"_You should get some rest." Luke sure as hell wouldn't be able to sleep now anyway and he didn't think he could cope sitting next to her now, not with out wanting to be near her again. _

_At first she said nothing... she just stood there, unable to do anything but stare. Finally, she dipped her head in farewell, her heart hammering against her chest. Her cheeks were a startling red colour, almost matching her hair. Even in the darkness, she knew Luke's intention had been to kiss her and she had no idea how she felt about that. Olly rushed in to the cabin, stepping over the sleeping forms of her friends. Her sleeping bag lay beside Clementine's who sat up when she entered. Clem opened her sleeping bag for her in which she willingly climbed in to it after placing her katana on the floor quietly, sliding off her boots and setting down her hat on the floor beside her. _

"_You should be asleep." She whispered to the little girl who just smiled. _

"_I'm glad you're okay. I heard the walkers." _

_Olly gave a comforting squeeze to the girl's shoulder. "It was nothing, Clem. We handled it. Now go to sleep, it's another long trip tomorrow." With that, the girl rolled over and Olivia waited until her breathing evened and a slight snore rose from the girl before her thoughts drifted back to what had just happened. _

_Her admission to him that she really cared for him came as a bit of a shock to both of them she thought. All of her unwritten rules about people had been completely dessimated since meeting this group and everything had changed. The anti-social girl with only one goal... she didn't know who that was anymore. She would do anything to keep Clementine and the others safe and Luke... her heart belonged to Luke now. It was like she was a teenager again and she had never felt more alive. _

_With a smile on her face, her eyes fluttered shut._

"There's the bridge." Clementine's tiny voice broke her from her thoughts, her eyes gliding over each group member instinctively, ensuring that she didn't let her guard down for anything important.

"Does it look passable?" Luke spoke with obvious hope in his voice.

"I think so."

"Good."

Clementine climbed back down from the rock whilst Carlos spoke. "We need to cross that bridge."

"Whoa, hold on now. We can't all go sprinting across that thing. If we're spotted out there, we're gonna be trapped."

"Luke's right. A large group will be too noticeable on that bridge if there's someone waiting for us on the other side." Luke and Olivia shared eye contact and a smile and she swore she saw him blush.

"Well, going around that lake will take too long." Carlos stood defiant, his hands on his hips.

"Right, but... look as Olly said, we have no idea who's out there. I'm gonna sneak across and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over."

"You honestly think splitting up the group is a good idea?"

"I never said it was a good idea, but it's better than riskin' everyone at once. Me and Olly can scout up ahead, make sure it's safe." Her heart fluttered at the thought of them being alone once again. Neither had spoken about what happened the night before and it did seem as if he was avoiding it. She thought he had regretted his advances on her, but maybe he wanted to wait for the opportune moment.

Clementine stood in front of him and scowled. "You promised you'd take me next time!"

"Oh." Luke looked over at Olivia. The redhead paused, then nodded. "Of course, Clementine. Me and you then." The young girl smiled and then stood beside him, ready to take on the world.

"We'll have a tough time coverin' your back from here."

"Well, we'll just turn back if it gets hairy." Luke was obviously trying to set their minds at ease as they all seemed to be nervous about letting a little girl and a young man alone across an unknown bridge. Olly was a little less uneasy as she knew Luke would protect Clementine with his life, if need be. Not that that was an option. She wouldn't lose either of them.

"Clementine should stay here. She's..."

"She's what, Carlos?" Luke folded his arms, squaring up to the older man who seemed dead set on keeping the girl behind.

"She's just a little girl, Luke."

"I can do it." All eyes turned on Clementine, Luke and Olly's being the only confidant ones.

"See? No problem. It's going to be okay. We'll signal you guys in ten minutes, just watch for a light on the far side."

Nick rose up from his seating position. "I can go too."

Luke's face immediately dropped. "You stay with the group."

"I'm fine, Luke!"

Luke just shook his head. "Com'on, Clem."

Olivia's impulsive nature demanded she say something. "Hey, Clem!" The duo turned at the sound of her voice, with a look of anticipation present. "Look after him, yeah? He's a clumsy one." Olivia finished with a wink causing the girl to smile and nod whilst Luke just rolled his eyes. With that said, they both clambered towards the large bridge which would hopefully lead them to safe harbor. Rebecca gave the young girl a knowing glance which Olly tried her best to ignore it, despite the burning sensation in her cheeks.

They did leave behind a very miffed Nick however. He was slumped on a rock, his rifle clutched impatiently in his hands. Olivia knew she should say something to him, but what could she say? She was sorry? Everyone had already said that a million times before. Everything will be okay? She didn't know that for certain and she wouldn't lie. She was worried about him, but more importantly she was worried he'd do something stupid. He was at breaking point, she could tell.

Olivia paced herself towards Nick, deciding she'd be able to come up with something to say in the inspiration of the moment. He looked at her when she parked herself next to him, in a very uncomfortable position. Suddenly, all words seemed to have left Olivia's vocabulary and the silence that greeted them was deafening. Maybe she should try and change the subject instead?

"So, d'ya think the ski resort will be safe?" No response. "It's large enough for all of us for sure." Nothing. "You know, I always heard that-"

"You don't have to keep making small talk. I'm fine."

"Well, it wouldn't be small talk if you replied." She attempted her most charming smile but received a frown in return. "Look Nick, I know what you're going through..."

"No. No, you don't." He drummed his fingers against the rifle, reassuring the fact she was nervous about him for a reason.

"I do. You know I do. And at least you got to have him for as long as you did, you know? My dad-"

"Yes, I know." Nick ducked his head down in defeat and sorrow. Olly placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder which he immediately shrugged off. "You all think I'm broken! Well, I'm not!" With that he stormed off towards the bridge.

"Hey! Nick! Where are you going?!"

"I'm gonna prove to you all I'm not broken!" Olivia's jaw reached the floor, stuck in a trance. Her fears were coming to light. He was going to do something stupid.

"You better get after him." Rebecca spoke from Alvin's side, her belly covered by a massaging hand. Olivia nodded in understanding and chased after the impetuous boy. When she finally had him in sight, he was pointing his rifle towards... Luke and Clementine? No. There was someone else. Luke and Clem were shouting for him not to shoot, but he wasn't listening. Olly made a dash for the weapon, but it was too late. Nick fired on the stranger, ripping his throat apart with a single shot, leaving only a little time for Luke and Clementine to duck. Rage filled her inside as the stranger fell over the bridge, blood gushing from his murderous wound. By the look on Luke's face, she wasn't the only one pissed beyond belief.

Olly pulled the weapon from his hands roughly, whilst Luke squared up to him. "I told you not to shoot!"

"What? Wha- Who was that guy?"

"Why didn't you wait for a signal?! Both of you!"

Olivia frowned at him, slightly disheartened that he hadn't grasped her intent. "I tried talking to this maniac back with the group but he just stormed off. I came to stop him... I was just too late." That's when Olly noticed the marks on Luke's face. He had been hurt. "Wait- what happened to your-"

Nick growled at over her, grabbing the weapon from her hands. "I was protecting the group!"

"Dammit, Nick! I told you not to shoot."

"How was I supposed to hear you? You gave me a clear shot."

"Well I heard him just fine! You're just making excuses."

Nick was taller than Olivia so it was easy for him to look intimidating when he glared down at her, but she wouldn't back down.

"Stop it, both of you. That shot ran out for miles. We need to get off this bridge. Let's go." Luke signaled to the rest of the group who had stayed behind. Once they had caught up, they began their trek to the small cabin which presumably had been claimed by the stranger they had just murdered.

Once they had reached the other side, Rebecca sat on a conveniently placed log allowing everyone else to gather round. "Who the fuck was that back there?"

"I don't know." Luke gasped, obviously trying to expel the adrenaline coursing through him.

"Looks like he had a gun on you." Alvin spoke honestly.

"That asshole drew on me! He was going to shoot!"

Clementine, who had been silent up until now, spoke hesitantly. "I don't think he was going to do anything."

Nick glared at the little girl which only made Olivia angrier. She had seen it too. Nick drew first. "I know what I saw."

"Either way, you coulda hit one of us."

"Well, I didn't."

"Look Nick, I know Pete was close to you... but you can't just-"

"Don't even fucking talk about him, Luke!"

"Do you think he was with Carver?" The usual voice of reason, Carlos, spoke for the first time. No longer seeming to be the confident man he once was.

"I don't know. No, I don't think so."

"We need to keep moving." Luke was just about to agree with Carlos before Rebecca pleaded for an extra minute. They all took advantage of this time, mulling over the recent events, trying to keep their emotions intact. Carlos asked to speak to Luke to Olly's dismay. She really wanted to make sure he was okay. His face had a nasty cut. On the other hand, it would give her a chance to speak to Clementine who had some noticeable wear and tear poking out of her usual strong presence.

The little girl just finished talking to Nick when Olivia joined her. "You okay, Clem?" She nodded. "You ran in to a little trouble, didn't you?"

"Luke fell through the bridge and there were walkers."

Olly couldn't help her shocked expression. He could've... "Well, I'm glad you were there to save him. That's the last time anyone underestimates you, I think." They shared a loving and mischievous grin, if only to lighten the mood. Deep down, her stomach was experiencing one heck of a roller coaster ride and was entering unknown territory.

"Hey Oliver, you got a second?" She turned to the familiar voice before looking down at Clementine asking for silent permission.

"Alvin asked me to check the cabin for food anyway."

"Okay, but be careful." Clem nodded then headed towards the newly deserted building.

Olivia looked back to Luke and her heart clenched at the sight of his wounds. A reminder that he had almost left them... left her, alone. On impulse, she pulled him in to a tight hug, her arms wrapped around his neck, whilst her cheek was planted firmly against his heart. It was still beating.

Luke tensed slightly, before relaxing. He managed a tiny chuckle whilst wrapping his own arms around her waist.

After a few seconds, they released each other. "You know, my comment about you being clumsy was only supposed to be a joke." Her mischevous grin was betrayed by her sad, concerned eyes.

"Clementine told you what happened then." Luke nervously rubbed the back of his neck, then stopped when a jolt of pain shot through him.

"Yes." Instinctively she placed a soothing hand over one of the grazes on his face, causing him to wince. "You should get Carlos to take a look."

"Nah, no need to trouble him with this. It'll heal by itself anyway. Probably."

"I suppose you're right. Besides, I think it's a slight improvement from your usual dreary face." The duo shared a chuckle, but once the laughter died... an understanding occurred between the two of them. "Try and be more careful."

"I will." The demanding groans of incoming roamers soon diverted their attention towards the bridge. "Okay, break times over guys. We gotta git."

Olivia noticed Alvin and Clementine exit the small cabin, wearing worried faces. She grabbed Clem's hand and pulled her close as they all sprinted off, faster than they really needed to.

* * *

It felt like they had been running for miles, perhaps it had been. Luke insisted they keep up the pace, allow distance between the roamers and themselves. Once the ski resort was in full view, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Rebecca. It was high up and was mostly boarded. The group couldn't believe their luck, especially with night time quickly approaching.

"Well, what are waiting for?" Rebecca choked out her words in breathy pauses. She was obviously feeling the strain.

"We have to be careful." Olivia was glad to hear the more collected Carlos she had grown accustomed too. Maybe the ski resort was a sign of hope for him and was providing him with a little faith.

"Careful? We've been on the road for five days. My back is done being careful."

"Doesn't look like anyone's home." _Doesn't mean there isn't anybody nearby, Alvin..._"Damn, nailed down tight." Alvin was tugging on the boards closest to him. Not achieving anything, him and Carlos went to check the front of the building.

Clementine strolled over to the edge of the decking, looking across the horizon. Olivia and Luke both noticed and soon joined her.

"Well, it'd be good to know if anybody's back there. Could probably get a better look from up there. You'd have an easier time gettin' up there. Fancy takin' a look?" Clem was silent for a second before nodding and made her way towards the ladder. "Just take it slow, and I'll catch you if you fall. Probably."

Clementine's face twisted in to an unconvinced expression which only made Olly giggle. "Nobody can trust your clumsiness. Don't worry, Clem. I've got your back." Luke scowled at her, but his eyes were amused.

Slowly, she ascended the ladder whilst Luke desperately tried to make small talk. "When we were kids, me and my friends used to jump rooftops. Now that was fun."

"That sounds stupid!"

"Yeah, yeah it was. The trick was to not look down, though..." With that, Clem's foot slipped causing all three of them to panic. "You're fine, you're fine. Look at me, you're fine."

"You just told me not to look..."

"Er... good point." Olly giggled at his bemused expression.

Once Clementine reached the top she called out in victory, "Made it!" allowing them both below to breath a sigh of relief.

"Well, do you see anythin'?"

"No... not yet. Wait, I see a light! And there's another!" Clem turned at the sound of yelling from a little ways off. "Luke!" Luke conflicted, looked at the young girl and then the rest of his group.

"Go. See what's going on. I'll help Clementine." With that, he sprinted off. Clem slowly descended the metal death trap, Olly prepared to catch her if she fell. When her feet were safely planted on the floor, Olivia grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the commotion.

"Listen, everyone, just stay calm!"

"Who are you? Are you trying to rob us?!" The voice was foreign and not just because Olly had never heard it before.

"Excuse me, honey, but do I look like a fuckin' theif?" In that one moment, Olivia was happy Rebecca had a big mouth. From what she could see, there were three of them there. A woman, a man aiming a gun at them, and another who was trying to defuse the situation. We outnumbered them... if the worst came to pass, we could take 'em.

Clementine seemed to be trying to push through the crowd, Olly tried to shield her, but she managed to get through... and her eyes lit up.

"Kenny?!"

* * *

**Okay, welcome to the longest chapter of the story so far. It's the least I could do considering I spent so much time away. Sorry about that. After playing episode 4 however... well, I knew I had to get writing because I have A LOT of ideas. There will be quite a lot of angst in the coming chapters, there's no escaping that. An idea came to me a while ago when I first started writing this and it should come to pass in the next chapter. Sorry again for keeping everyone waiting. Your kind words have been very encouraging. Unfortunately, I'm just a very unpredictable writer.**


	11. Chapter 11 - Reunions

**I hope you guys like this chapter. It was a difficult one because there are some really slow parts which I don't think are all that great, but hopefully the end makes up for that.**

TWD Chapter 11 - Reunions

* * *

"Kenny?!" The man who had been swinging his gun around at the group, stopped and did a double take on the child in front of him. He just stared. It was like he was transfixed, mesmerized even.

"Wait, you know this guy?" Luke voiced the whole groups disbelief with a tone that reflected it.

"Cl- Clementine?" immediately she pulled the man, now known as Kenny, in to a tight hug and Olivia couldn't help but smile, happy that Clem had found someone. Looking over at Luke however, Olly saw a small frown appear at the sight. The thought of Luke actually being jealous made her chuckle to herself. He was adorable.

Once their hug was complete, Kenny knelt before her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The man behind him spoke next. "I'll take that as a yes."

"These people with you?" Clem nodded at her old friend, giving the man the all clear that it was safe to let them in. "We can talk inside."

"Great, I just started dinner." The other man gave them all a warm smile, which was returned with uneasy expressions from the rest of the group. Olivia trusted Clementine and Clem trusted Kenny, so she was willing to give a little more trust if they were.

Carlos seemed to agree. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"It's going to storm soon. Please, come in."

Kenny lead their group inside, Clementine close by his side. Olivia couldn't imagine the happiness she must be feeling. To be able to grasp on to something so familiar must be nice, to say the least. Olly wondered about their history a little more. Clem didn't speak much about her past and she never pressed her too at the fear of opening old wounds. She guessed that Kenny had been part of her previous group though. The one with Lee.

Once the whole group had entered the building after Kenny and Clementine, their mouths flew open. The surroundings they were greeted with astounded them. Apart from the obvious size of the place, it had electricity! Olly had forgotten that it even existed.

"Please make yourselves at home. You can leave your things over there." That of course was going to be an issue.

"The hell we will." Rebecca, always the first to protest, scowled at the two men.

"Yeah, I'm holdin' on to my rifle, thanks." _Yeah, because that's always a good idea, Nick._

"You're our guests here. There's no need to worry." When Olivia looked at Walter, she saw what she saw in Luke all that time ago. A good man. However, being parted from her katana would be a big deal for her... even the backpack on her back had been with her since the start. Any inkling that she may have judged them wrong could leave her defenceless and doomed.

"Tell him to put his gun down, then." Nick, for once, had a fair point.

"Kenny?" Walter attempted a reassuring smile, but Kenny remained silent for a long time. He looked at each member of the group individually, assessing them and suddenly Olly felt very self conscious.

"Will you vouch for these people, Clem? If you tell me they're good, then I'm good."

"Us? You were the one wavin' a gun around man!"

"Not now, Nick!" Olly scolded, still infuriated with him for his earlier endeavours.

"Look, we're cool. We're cool, okay? Hey, hey we're cool." Luke's eyes desperately switched from the strangers to Clementine. Poor girl, stuck in the middle like this.

"They're cool." Just then, Carlos and Sarah joined the rest of the group with the woman that had been with Kenny at the start.

"Dad! Look! A christmas tree!" Sarah began moving towards said christmas tree before Carlos pulled her back.

"Not now, Sarah."

Kenny looked over each person again and Olly wondered if he'd even take Clementine's word for it. She could see he was a distrusting man. Just what exactly had they been through before? When they almost gave up hope, Kenny began walking towards the benches near the entrance and gently placed his rifle down on the ground. Luke was the next to move, unsheathing his machete and setting it down on the bench. Once he had done that, everyone else joined in removing their weapons and equipment, everyone except Olly.

She stood by the benches, her katana in one hand and caressing the sheath with the other.

"It's your turn now." The bearded man scowled at her with deep brown eyes, but softened when he noticed she almost looked sad.

Her eyes drifted from the man back down to the sword. It was almost like if she did this, she was fully accepting that her past was indeed the past and she had let it go. It was stupid. She knew exactly where it would be and it wasn't going anywhere. Luke, noticing her hesitation, pressed a soothing hand over hers. They shared a sad smile and Luke gently guided her hand down until the weapon lay on the bench.

"Good. If you all follow me, I'll show you where you can sleep."

The group were led up the ski lodge stairs and were shown the bedrooms that were available. There were three double rooms and three singular rooms which contained two single beds each. One double room had already been taken by Kenny and Sarita and one singular by Walter and somebody named Matthew, so they were told. Alvin and Rebecca claimed one of the doubles which seemed fair considering they were a couple. Carlos almost took a singular with Sarah, until Luke suggested Clementine and Sarah bunked together instead.

With that, Olivia scanned beside her for the young girl but couldn't find her. Going over to the balcony, she scanned below her and found her sat on the couch with Kenny. By the distant look in their eyes, she guessed they were reminscing. Luke soon joined her and placed a quick pat on her shoulder. He hadn't asked about what happened at the bench with her sword and for that she was grateful. "Me and Nick are bunkin' in one of the singulars, Carlos is takin' the other double and it seems you have a single to yourself. You cool with that?"

Olivia nodded. "Of course. It'll be nice to sleep in a soft bed again."

"Yeah, you can say that again." There was a pleasant silence between the pair for a few minutes whilst everyone else bustled around excitedly, content in their situation. Clementine had moved from her spot with Kenny and was now with Walter in the kitchen area. "What do you make of 'em? Walter, Sarita and eh... Kenny?"

"They seem like decent people. It's obvious Kenny has had issues, but Walter and Sarita... I see what I saw in you when we first met."

Luke's eyebrow shot straight up in a quizzical expression, a slight amused smirk on his face. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Kindness. I saw kindness."

Luke's face morphed in to a look she had never seen from him before. A look of sincere gratitude and pride. That look caused her breath to hitch as it had done before when they were in close proximity. The couple stared at each other, completely oblivious to the rest of the world and more content than they had been in a long time. Luke seemed to be moving in for a second time, a look of desire apparent on his face which immediately Olivia reacted to, her heart beating a little faster the closer he got. A cough sounded behind them, the moment interrupted for a second time. They both turned, red cheeked at the sight of Clementine, a amused smirk on her face. Luke rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly whilst Olly attempted to cool down her burning cheeks. "Carlos was looking for you, Luke."

"Oh, right. Eh... thanks, Clementine." With that, Luke sheepishly shuffled off to find Carlos, leaving a very embarrassed girl with a very smug one.

"What?" Clem's smile grew. She really was wicked when she wanted to be. "I'm gonna... check on Rebecca." Olivia had looked over at the pregnant lady and noticed she had seemed a bit down and tired. Olly still thought her to be overly hot-headed, but sometimes it had come in handy and she could understand somewhat with her predicament of being pregnant in a world with out hospitals... and mercy.

Rebecca sat on a table, in a rare occasion were she was alone. Her hand rested on her bump as it usually did and Olly supposed it comforted her to do so. When she joined the woman's side, she looked up and mustered her best smile. "Hey, you okay, Rebecca?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. That's all." Olivia jumped on the desk beside her, causing the furniture to wobble under her, creating slight panic between then pair before it settled, allowing a sigh of relief and chuckle to escilate from them both.

"So, excited for this ones arrival?" Olly gestured to the baby bump that willingly exposed itself to the world.

"I've never been more excited for anything in my whole life. It's... scary though."

"I bet. We promise to look after you, though."

The woman smiled warmly. "Thank you, I appreciate that." With that, Rebecca paused for a second as if contemplating, then stared at the young woman beside her.

"What?"

A little laugh sprouted from Rebecca. "Okay, I have to ask. What's going on between you and Luke?"

Olly's embarrassment returned in full strength, her cheeks radiating heat. This only seemed to amuse the inquiring woman even more. "What makes you think there's anything going on?"

"Oh, please. Even before I saw him trying to kiss you over there, the doe eyed looks you two were giving each other the past couple-a-days were almost sickening."

Olivia was quiet for a long time. She didn't really know what was going on with Luke either. She knew she liked him and cared for him... but was there anything else? It had obviously been a long time since she'd been with anyone, so perhaps it was just lust? Yet whenever he would do something to put himself in danger, it felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest. All those barriers she had put up to keep people away... where had they gotten to? There couldn't be a worse time to fall for anyone and she knew this, but whenever she was around him, that didn't matter.

Olly sighed. "I don't know. I really don't. Even if I was certain how I felt... Would it even work? I mean surely if we're being responsible, this shouldn't happen! How would we cope if one of us..." She trailed off as a sad look swept in to her eyes, a look Rebecca was very familiar with.

"Look Olivia, part of surviving this shitty world is trying not to lose what little humanity we have left. If we're willing to give up on 'love' just because it's safer, what hope do we have? You like him, I can see that and Luke... well it's obvious how he feels. I don't want to influence you, but just think about it, okay?"

"Thanks, Rebecca." The young girl pulled the woman in to a careful hug, afraid of hurting the baby. A shocked expression grew on her face, until she returned it warmly.

"Well everyone, dinner is served. C'mon, let's eat!" Walter called from downstairs and Olly's stomach rumbled in kind. Sprinting down the stairs like she had as a child on christmas morning, Olivia took her place on the table with Luke and Nick who sat opposite each other. They were soon joined by Alvin and Rebecca who sat on the other end and Sarah and Carlos who sat in the middle. Kenny and his group sat on the other table as expected.

"You okay, man?" Luke spoke sincerely, obviously worried for his friends state of mind after today's earlier incident.

"Yeah, I'm just... I wish I hadn't pulled that trigger." Nick's sorrowful expression almost moved Olivia.

"Just try to forget about it." Luke turned to see Clementine headed towards the tables and held up a hand to off her a place between him and Olly.

"Over her, Clem!" Unfortunately, he was beaten by Kenny. Luke's eyebrows knotted together in a sad expression which straight away caused a very conflicted Clementine.

When she headed for Kenny's table, Olly understood. Luke surely didn't. "Try not to worry about it, Luke. They've been seperated for a long time, it's understandable she'd want to spend more time with him."

"Yeah, you're right." He didn't look very appeased, however and just seemed to be picking at his food, rather than eating it.

"Don't eat too quickly, Lucy, you'll get indigestion."

"Very funny."

"I thought so." Olivia shared her most dazzling grin and in return she received the result she expected, a slight smile in return.

"Maybe I should go talk to 'em? Find out a little more."

"Good idea. Find out what you can... whether we can trust them or not." _There goes the paranoid Carlos again._

Nick nodded. "I'll come too. What about it, Olly?"

Olivia sighed. "I suppose somebody has to keep you boys out of trouble." With that, the three of them picked up their bowls and joined Kenny and Clementine at their table. Luke sat beside the man, whilst Nick and Olly sat either side of Clementine.

"Eh, Hey." The awkwardness of the moment as Luke spoke lay thick in the air.

"Hey there. Hope you like the food."

"Oh. It's... great. Thank you."

_Really convincing Luke... I've discovered you're not a great liar, that's good to know. Time to save the day. _"It's really nice, actually. What's in it?"

Kenny smiled at her. "Peaches and beans. Great for nutrition. Not too great on the way out though, I tell ya." He chortled at his own joke, whilst everyone, even Clementine, tried to hide their disgust. Once his laughter died down, he returned his attention to the lads on the table. "So... it's Luke and Nick. Luke and Nick. You guys sure do look like a match." Whilst Luke and Nick looked up with a scrunched face, Oliva couldn't hold back a giggle, which just caused Luke to scowl again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick, the ever defensive one, took his stance.

"I'm just saying you look like good friends, that's all. Besides, aren't you with..." Kenny looked at the man beside him and gestured to Olivia, which caused her to choke on her peaches, Luke's eyes to dart around everywhere except at the girl in question and Nick to give his friend a very questoning look.

"Com'on Kenny, you're embarrassing them." Sarita touched her lovers arm, but still looked rather amused by the whole situation.

"Sorry, didn't realise it was a big secret."

Olivia felt like arguing that they weren't together, but decided against it... she'd only stumble over her words and make herself look more guilty.

Obviously feeling the heavy atmosphere, Luke made an attempt at changing the subject. "So what was your plan here? Hold out for the winter?"

"Actually, we were thinkin' of moving on. Somewhere up north." Kenny's faraway gaze turned to Clementine. "Ever heard of a place called Wellington?"

"Wellington? The hell is that?"

Luke's confrontational tone seemed to grate on the older man. "A place."

Sensing tension, Clementine responded quickly. "Yeah, me and Christa were going there."

They shared a proud smile, Kenny obviously happy that someone was on the same page as him. "There's supposed to be a big camp up near Michigan."

"Michigan?" Olivia sighed. _Here we go... Nick's turn now._

"You got a hearing problem, kid? Yeah, Michigan. Think about it. Fresh water, lots of land and cold ass winters, so the walkers get slow."

"Sounds like bullshit."

It was evident the older man, who had obviously had to deal with plenty of shit, was losing his temper fast as he glowered at Nick. "Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your problem is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the morning."

"Well, that'd be just fine by me!"

Both young men were shooting daggers at Kenny, obviously feeling outnumbered, he involved Clementine. "What's the deal with these guys, Clem?"

"Hey, fuck you, buddy."

"Nick, stop it!" Nick didn't seem to hear the redhead, or just didn't care to, as he completely ignored her.

"It's fine, Nick, we're not stayin'"

"She's staying!" Kenny pointed to Clementine, obviously making her feel uncomfortable.

Olly wasn't going to let that slide. "Excuse me? I think that's Clementine's choice, if she wants to stay with us, she'll stay."

"Please. Don't fight." The tables eyes turned on the little girl who looked severly tired with the situation.

"Sorry, Clem." Olivia placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulders, which eased in to slightly.

Kenny seemed as if he was about to retaliate, until his friend, Walter, came over. "Gentlemen, please. There's no need for this. Now look, we've all had a long day. Please, eat."

There were a few seconds of silence, before Kenny spoke. "Pass me that can, Duck."

The shocked expressions of Kenny and Clementine sent shockwaves of curiousity across the table, only voiced by Luke. "Duck? Who's Duck?" Nobody answered the question, the only response given was a warning glance by Clementine. A warning not to continue the line of questioning.

The atmosphere in the room was dense with remorse and it was indisputable nobody should take about why. "Hey, Clementine. Would you, uh, lend me a hand outside for a moment?" The girl hesitated slighly, before rising from her seat and leaving a very distant looking Kenny to his thoughts.

Knowing that the conversation was over, the three of them decided it best to leave also. Nick said he was done and headed straight upstairs to the room him and his friend had planned to stay in.

"Aren't you going to join him?" Luke and Olly stood in the kitchen area after leaving their bowls on the side. Olly was leaning against the counter, gazing up at Luke, who seemed to be another place completely with his thoughts.

"W-what? Oh... eh, no. I'm not really tired."

"Okay, hit me with it. What you thinking about?"

He sighed. "Just about where we're going to go tomorrow. We can't stay here, not with what Clementine saw."

"Oh, yeah. I had almost forgotten about that. You think we're safe here for tonight?"

"I think so, I don't know. Clementine did say the lights were headed back in to the forest."

"I'm sure we're..." Olivia's sentence cut short when her eyes glossed over a frightening sight.

"W-what? What is it?" When she didn't answer, he followed her eye-line and immediately saw what she did. "Oh, shit." Across the room lay a picture of Walter and the man Nick had shot on the bridge. "Oh no, no, no. Shit, what are we goin' to do?" Luke grasped the picture with shaky hands.

They both heard the door open and close, the sound of the footsteps told them it was Clementine. Once she was in sight, Luke called her over. "Clementine. Don't freak out." A concerned expression greeted them and Olivia tried to reassure her with a smile. When the girl got closer, Luke explained the situation. "Listen, okay. We gotta tell you somethin'. That guy on the bridge was Walter's friend." He produced the picture of the couple that Olly's keen eye had spotted.

"I knew, for sure." The trio looked at one another in turn, having a silent conversation. It was obvious that there was no sure way to proceed with this.

Luke seemed to make the decision for all of them. "I don't think Walter knows yet. So we have to keep this quiet. I mean, who knows what the hell he'd do if he found out."

"What if he finds out anyway?"

"Then.. then we'll figure something out at that moment."

"It's not a very strong plan, Luke."

"I know, Olly, I know. It's all we got though. Now, Clementine, do you still have that knife you found?" This is the first Olly had heard of any knife. "Because if it's Matthews, and Walter sees it, he's gonna put two and two together."

"It's with the other weapons."

"Okay, well, go get rid of it. I'll go find Walter and run interference."

"This is risky, Luke."

"I know. I know it is, but we have to try. Oh and Clem, uh... keep an eye out for Nick."

"I'm right here, what's up?" The three of them turned, their hands behind their backs, like teenagers caught smoking in school.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing, man. I just wanted to check and see if you're okay." _Wors__t__. Liar. Ever..._

"Hey, if there's something goin' on, I want to know."

"Nah, just go back to bed." Olivia shot a nervous glance to Luke, who simultaneously did the same.

"I'm serious, you guys can talk to me."

Olivia sighed and took the photo from Clementine, who seemed indecisive on what to do. Once Nick had seen it, she instantly regretted showing him.

"Oh God. Oh Jesus!"

"Goddammit, Nick. Shut the fuck up."

"I can't, man. I can't."

"Nick, please. You'll drop us all in it. We're leaving in the morning, just fucking keep quiet 'til then."

"I can't! I have to tell him, Olly." Olivia pressed her hand to her temple, trying to restrain from groaning at Nick's stupidity. "I've got to, guys. I cant live with that on me!"

"Either way is risky."

Olly sighed in defeat. "Clementine's right. I think this is Nick's decision, Luke..."

"Look, I hear you... but fuck man, do you know what he's gonna do?"

"I can't handle this." Nick protested, his head in his hands as he walked away.

"Look, Clem... just go do that thing. Me and Olivia will handle this." No matter what Luke said, he was tired and it was obvious.

The couple chased Nick upstairs who was pacing furiously. "Nick, you need to calm the fuck down."

"What if it was you, Luke? Could you just 'calm down'?" Nick removed his hat to run his hands through his hair, exasperated.

"Nick, you have to think about the rest of us too. If you tell him, they'll kick us out or worse... We need to get Rebecca a decent nights rest." Olly pleaded as best she could.

Hunched over, Nick sighed. "You're right. I just... need some air." Nick, feeling defeated, left the scene and his friends in favour for the outdoors, allowing Luke to breath a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. You were great." Luke mumbled under his hands, as his fingers rubbed against his eyes.

"You need to sleep."

"Oh yeah, right, because I'm totally in a state of mind to get a good nights rest." He sighed.

"You put too much pressure on yourself. You take on everyone elses problems and battle everyone elses fights. I think it's about time you put yourself first."

Luke gazed down at her, a smirk appearing on his face. "I've tried to... twice." Her dazed eyes and uneven breathing increased the size of his smile, smug he could cause that reaction. However, the sound of the wind turbine outside increasing in speed interrupted their thoughts. They obviously weren't the only ones to hear it as the others left their rooms to investigate also.

Exiting the lodge, they all came face to face with a grieving Walter, Clementine and Nick. "Walt? What's going on?" Luke and Olivia knew Nick had told him, but that wasn't their main concern at that moment in time. "The storms got it spinnin' outta control. That sounds gonna draw walkers. We gotta shut it down."

"Nick, help me get the guns." Carlos demanded and Nick promptly followed. It wasn't long before they returned with the weaponary. Each person was handed a gun, even Clementine. When Nick offered her a gun, she refused.

"Just give me my katana. I was never that great with guns. My gun was always empty for that reason." He nodded and handed her the sword. Olly felt complete again.

"That thing's a damn dinner bell!" The whole group sprinted towards the turbine, the adrenaline kicking in, causing their breath to become erratic. However, as soon as they reached said dinner bell, a spine shiveringly loud bang was heard from across the way.

"What the hell was that?" Luke's voice wavered as he spoke, the adrenaline obviously taking its affect.

"Dammit, transformer musta gone. Gotta check it. I could use a hand."

"I'll go with you." _Of course it would be, Luke. Why must you do this to me?_

"I'm going too."

"No, Sarita! It's too dangerous. Rest of you, get this thing shut down."

Kenny and Luke began their trek to the transformer and panic rose inside of Olly. _He could die... He could die! I could die! _Rebecca's words played in her mind and in a split decision, she responded the only way she could. "LUKE!" At the sound of his name being called, he turned to the sight of a very distressed looking red head scampering towards him. Before he knew what was happening, her soft lips were pressed against his and her arms around his neck, a kiss so desperate it promised so much if they both got out of this alive. The kiss was quick, but powerful and told them more than either of them could say through words. It was something they had both been waiting for. "Make sure you come back to me." Luke nodded carefully and quickly chased after Kenny, leaving a very flustered girl. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted anymore, she had a little girl to protect.

Olivia sprinted back to Clementine's side at the turbine which Sarita had already approached and opened.

"Does anyone know how to do this?" Carlos spoke hesitantly, obviously ruling out that he didn't. Worringly, Sarita just shrugged as did everyone else.

"I can do it." Surprised eyes turned on the little girl, even Olly's.

"Okay. We'll watch your back. Nick scan the trees with me. Olivia stay by Clementine's side, if any get too close, dispatch them with your sword."

Olivia nodded assuredly, unsheathing the blade. "You got it."

Whilst Carlos and Nick walked off, Clem took out her lighter and used it to light up the box. Olly had her back fully to Clementine, weapon in hand, ensuring all perspectives were in sight. Before the groans were even fully audible, the turbine came to a stop, leaving Olly to turn to the girl with pride. Before celebrations could ensue, the warning sounds of oncoming walkers sprouted from the trees, ensuring everybody's guard went straight back up.

"We don't have much ammunition." Carlos' voice was timid as he spoke, obviously frightened.

"We gotta get back to the lodge."

Olly was scouting the tree line, taking note of how useful she'd be in this fight. Her keen eye spotted the coming roamers behind them. "They're behind us too!" Nick shot the one closest to them which began the chain of shots being fired. "I'll get the ones behind us, you guys concentrate on the other side." They nodded in agreement, turning to fire in their own direction. "Clementine, start firing at the ones that get too close and when you can, make a break for the lodge." She agreed and held out her gun in front of her, preparing to fire.

Olivia sprinted to the one closest to her, shoving her blade up through it's mouth, and sliding it back out when the corpse was lifeless. She ran to the next, swiping horizontally, removing it's head completely. Another human eating critter hobbled close to her, gnashing it's teeth. Olly brought her katana down in to it's brain in one swift motion. Unfortunately, the diagonal direction she had brought the blade down in meant it had gotten stuck, and another one of those things were gaining on her. Her heart hammered against her chest as she attempted to yank the weapon out. A gunshot was fired, splattering the brain of the oncoming roamer, giving her time to unhinge the weapon from the brain she had just destroyed. She turned to see Clementine pointing the gun in the direction that the walker had come from. She had saved her life. Olivia gave her a grateful smile before ushering her to continue her way towards the lodge.

Believing Clementine was surely able to protect herself, Olly ran to join Nick who seemed to be struggling to hold off a whole pack of them. She cut through two of them before he even realised she had arrived to help him. He quickly dispatched three more before his gun clicked, signalling he had no ammo. That's why Olivia hated guns. "Go, Nick! I'll finish these off." He nodded and ran off, presumably heading towards the lodge. He didn't get very far before he was grabbed by a roamer, but with Olivia now some what preoccupied, she was unable to help him. She tried to speed up her dispatch of those remaining, but there were so many and she couldn't allow herself to get sloppy.

"Please! Help me!" Olly turned at his pleas, allowing for one of the critters to lunge towards her and knock her off her feet. _So much for not getting sloppy._ She attempted to keep it at bay as her other hand reached for her sword, which had just fallen out of reach, but the corpse was too strong. Her muscles ached with fatigue and their weakness meant she was unable to push it off. She wasn't sure if anyone could even see, or if anyone would even bother rescuing her. She couldn't rely on that at this moment in time, she had to concentrate on getting herself out of it.

That's when the sound of assault rifles were heard from the tree lines and the roamer on top of her was shot dead. Relief washed over her for a split second as she mustered the strength and pushed off the corpse. Then her guard was back up instantly as she grabbed her sword from the ground. Spotting Carlos, Nick, Sarita and Walter, she quickly joined their side, preparing for whoever it was out there. Her heart skipped a beat, however, when she realised that Clementine wasn't here. "Where is she?"

Carlos didn't answer, just subtly pointed to the lodge. Good. Then Olly still had her. She had no idea where Luke was... or if she'd even see him again.

Once all the roamers had been dispatched, the oncoming figures of four people approached. They were difficult to make out in the dark, but she was certain they were heavily armed and the one in front was Carver. That bastard.

"Howdy, folks." The cringe worthy voice of the man, who had pushed his way through the old cabin, came in to view.

She could see all four of them clearly now. First, there was Carver, then a woman with her hair tied back, a rough looking man and... a set of emerald eyes, identical to hers. Her heart stopped and her knees trembled.

"D-dad?"


	12. Chapter 12 - A Broken Heart

**Hello, everybody! I just wanted to say thank you for all your compliments. Special thanks to 'jennn18', 'Tess Carver', 'Mythical Annie-Rose' and 'Savannah's Angels' for reviewing the last chapter! **

TWD Chapter 12 – A Broken Heart

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"Dad! It's me, Olivia!" The shocked expressions of Carlos and Nick greeted her as she attempted to sprint towards him.

"Olivia, don't!"

She was the happiest she had felt in a long time and nothing, not even Carlos, would keep her away from him. Even with Luke, she hadn't been this happy.

The group had already been close so it didn't take long for her to fully close the distance, but she wasn't greeted with the happy face she thought she would have been and that was her only restraint from throwing her arms around his neck. Carver, the rough looking man and even her father were glaring at her. "Take care of your daughter, Joel. We have business to attend to and she looks like she could use some... guidance." With that, the other three walked off, leaving Joel with Olly, who was trying to mull over what Carver had instructed her dad to do.

Her father hadn't said a word to her and this confused her more. "Dad..."

"You should never have run to me."

"Wha-?" She never got to finish her sentence before the butt of her father's assault rifle struck her cheek, causing her to meet the floor and her hat to been throw off in disarray.

"Now get up and don't make me do it again." Olivia's eyes watered from the impact, her heart aching at how it broke. She looked up at Carlos and the others, sorrowful expressions on their faces. It felt like nothing mattered any more. Everything she had worked for, everything she had done to find her dad... and she discovers this, a man that no longer resembled him at all. "I said get up!"

"D'ya want me to do it, Joel?"

"No, I got it, Troy. She's my problem... Get. Up." Olly attempted to push herself up from the ground, but it caused too much pain inside and she just flopped back down. Her father growled at her before dragging her forcefully off the ground and pushing her forward. Tears fell down her cheeks as she stumbled back towards Carlos. When she reached the group, Carlos placed a soothing hand on her shoulder before Nick took her in to his arms and hugged her against him, allowing her bleeding cheek and tears to soak in to his shirt.

"Now that's sorted, where's Rebecca?" There was a pause in the group, the only sound was Olivia's muffled crying. That was until Carlos spat in Carver's face furiously.

"It's nice to see you too." Carver's words were accompanied with a powerful punch, almost causing Carlos to topple over. A few seconds later, Sarah sprinted out of the lodge, calling her dad's name and landing straight in to his arms. The girl exiting the ski lodge gave Carver the realisation that the rest must be inside. After commanding them silently, his 'team' escorted the captives inside. Olivia hoped that Clementine was well hidden, she didn't want her to have to go through this.

The group were stopped just outside the lodge whilst Troy and Bonnie went inside to scout the place out. This left Carver and Joel to watch over the group. Olivia realised that she still had her sword strapped to her back, maybe she could...

"Joel. Strip them of weapons." Too little, too late. Her father started with Carlos, then Sarita. Nick scowled at him when he came close to himself and Olivia who he was still clutching for dear life. It hurt the way he was holding her, but that pain was the only reminder that this was real. She had to get a grip. Once Nick had given his gun to him, it was Olly's turn. She politely pulled away from Nick and slowly pulled the strap of her katana over her head. Their shared emerald eyes never left each other as they both searched for something to salvage. She reluctantly handed the sword over in which he immediately slung it over his own shoulder. Olivia had to prevent herself from hurting him... she didn't know what she would have done, but she would have hurt him.

"Your gun too."

Olly scowled. "I don't have a gun on me."

"You expect me to believe..."

Carver peered over Joel's shoulder, obviously having overheard the conversation. "I believe her. Last time we met she never had a gun on her either... she would have shot me otherwise."

"As you say, boss."

"Now get them inside. It looks like Rebecca is playing a game of hide-and-seek, and I think it's about time we changed the rules."

The group were pushed inside the lodge with Walter taking the lead. Once they had them in the position they wanted, they were put on the knees and their hands tied behind their back. On either side of Olivia was Sarita and Nick. It comforted her to be near someone who had been friends with Luke for so long, which was pretty pathetic if she was honest. A part of her hoped that Luke would come in and rescue them all... that was the selfish side of her. The other part hoped he had gotten away so he could live freely and not be bound by these... monsters. Somehow though, she knew Luke wouldn't abandon them.

Once everyone had been tied up, Carver began scouting the upstairs with his eyes. When he saw no sign of his beloved Rebecca, he seemed to realise that she wasn't going to come out for him, and he snapped. He grabbed Carlos by the collar and yanked him from his knelt position by his daughter's side. "Let go of him, you fuck!"

"Joel."

Olivia's shrieks were greeted with another hit to the face by her dad, at Carver's command. Olly didn't cry this time, oh no, she raged. She felt like she was on fire and her whole body shook with anger. It did the trick though, she kept quiet... deep inside, however, she was planning her revenge. Anyone who noticed was almost taken aback by how frightening she looked. With out the hat shadowing her face, her fiery red hair was on full show and falling in front of her face as it always had... green orbs scowling from beneath, no longer shining as they usually did. The added blood trickling down her cheek fulfilled the look.

Carver punched Carlos in the stomach this time, provoking him to his hands and knees. His daughter cried for him and he had no way of physically comforting her as he usually did.

"Listen, I'm only gonna ask once. Where's Rebecca?"

Carlos didn't answer, he just turned to his daughter. "Sarah, look at me. It's going to be okay." Sarah almost seemed to believe it before Carver grabbed his wrist and broke one of his fingers which gave a crack that seemed to echo through out the whole lodge, as did his screams.

This infuriated Olivia more. Never before had she wanted someone more dead than she did at this point. With a great effort, she managed to hold her tongue... she was no use to Carlos dead.

"Rebecca?" Silence. "Rebecca. Our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety." _His baby? So this is what all this is about_. _Damn it._ Olivia always knew Rebecca had something to hide. "I know you're out there. And Alvin. And Luke. And the girl." _Oh, shit. No. He was not getting Clementine! Let's hope she stays away, otherwise it wasn't going to get pretty. _"This is real simple. You want this over quick, you all play nice and show your faces."

Sarah was hysterical now, pleading for her father's life. Olivia knew exactly why Rebecca wouldn't come down and it was selfish. People were going to die if she didn't.

Carver, who was becoming more and more impatient, broke another of Carlos' fingers and the scream was excruciating to hear and Olly had to shut her eyes, in any attempt to try and block it out. Sarah was crying again, begging for Carver to stop. Carlos, the cool, calm, collected man she once knew was gone as he shouted for this to end. "Fuck you. Shoot him! Somebody just shoot hi-" Carver pulled on the man's head, revealing a knife to his neck. They had a matter of seconds to give themselves up or Carlos was going to die.

"Bill, Stop!"

A wicked smile appeared on the man's face. "Ah." He threw Carlos to the ground as Joel pulled him up and bound him again. Olivia got a quick look at his fingers which were bent and crooked and she wondered if he'd ever be able to use them again. The pregnant woman descended the stairs, as did Alvin and... Clementine. Olly died a little inside at the sight of her. Rebecca waddled straight up to Carver, a furious look on her face. He raised his hand to her causing her to flinch as he stroked her cheek. "You all right?"

"Fuck you, Bill." She turned back to where the rest of them where, looking crushed.

Olly turned to see her father pulling on Clementine's arm to try and bind her. "Don't you fucking touch her!"

Joel just ignored her and continued his rough approach, but Carver seemed amused. "Ah, yes. Your 'sister'. You didn't actually think I believed that bullshit, did you?" He knelt before the redhead, both of them not breaking eye contact. "You're goin' to be trouble. I have a way of dealing with troublemakers. Joel had been a troublemaker once too, but now... he's my loyalist friend. He saw the error of his ways and I'm certain, you'll earn my forgiveness too." Olivia smirked at him before mustering all the strength she could to throw her head forward to collide with his. He fell backwards, blood gushing from his nose.

After a few seconds, Carver clambered up from the floor, trying to regain what little dignity he had left and rubbed away the red liquid which ran down his face. Olly just smiled at him. She received a full frontal smack across her injured cheek before turning to Joel and nodding. Then he turned his attention back to the rest of them, particularly Rebecca. Her father dragged her from the ground and slammed her down on the counter. Her vision went dazed and her hearing was muffled. She was pretty certain she heard Clementine call her name, but she couldn't be sure. It took a few seconds for her hearing to return to a volume where she could make out actual words being spoken. Before she knew it, she was being grabbed by the hair and pulled up over the counter. A harsh voice spoke in to her ear. "It's a good job you're my daughter, otherwise you'd be dead right now. I'm the only thing keeping you alive so shut the fuck up and behave otherwis-" Joel was cut off by the sound of a gunshot and shattering glass. Realisation that the bullet had hit her dad in the shoulder came when he suddenly released her. Now both her father and herself had fallen to the ground in pain. The worst part about it all was... she felt no pity for the man. In fact, at that exact moment, she'd have been glad if he died. Olly's eyesight was still gradually returning, but she could hear the commotion just fine.

"You'll be okay, Joel. We'll get this wrapped up real quick and then Carlos can patch you up." It was strange to hear Carver actually sound like he cared. Maybe it was because her father did everything he damn well said... even beat his own daughter almost to death.

Olly could hear the woman saying she "can't see him." She assumed by 'him', she meant Kenny or maybe... Luke! The hope fuelled her and finally she could just make out the figures of Carver and Troy who were hidden behind pillows.

"Watch them." The outlined figure of Bill moved towards the group and plucked one of his hostages from the floor, using them as a human shield. Olivia tried blinking a few times in an attempt to get her vision back. After the fifth time, she could see specific details which made it easy to point out that the human shield was in fact Walter. He was brought back to his knees and instantly shot in the head. Olly shut her eyes tight and in that moment, wished her vision gone again. The shocked gasps and cries of anguish filled the room, but Carver didn't even flinch.

"Please! Stop!" The scared voice of Clementine gave Olivia the strength needed to crawl away from her dad, who was bleeding profusely, and towards the little girl whilst everyone else was preoccupied with the shooter.

"That's for injuring our man! Now, I didn't want to have to do this, but you ain't leavin' me much choice. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head." Sarah was now on the verge of breaking point and it was taking every ounce of Olly's strength to not run up and knock Carver on his ass. Right now, though, Clementine was much more important. Olivia finally reached Clem who had never looked more terrified in her life... she was holding it together though, better than herself actually. "Or you can give up now. It's your choice." Another shot fired, narrowly missing Carver's head. At this point, Olly was certain that this was Kenny and not Luke... Luke would have given himself up right after Walter had been killed. Then, where was he? "Hi, Alvin."

Suddenly, it was Alvin being taken next. "Alvin!" Rebecca made an attempt to pull her husband back, until a gun was thrust in to her face. "Bill, no! Tell him to stop. Kenny, stop!"

Carver ignored her pleas and continued to guide Alvin to the same spot he had just murdered Walter. Olly had liked Walter. One of the few remaining kind people, in this fucked up world, had just been killed... and another was just about to join him. Olivia shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the images burned in to her mind. She opened her eyes again when she heard a loud thud and a wheeze. Clem had gone to protect Alvin and was now being held at gunpoint and in her attempt to block it all out, she hadn't even noticed! "NO! PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS!" Olly's desperate pleas fell on uncaring ears.

Bill Carver was a ruthless man and did not care for pleas. "We can do this all night. Is that what you want?"

The next few seconds that passed had never felt so long. Olivia's heart was hammering making it difficult to breath. Then the door swung open and Kenny entered, his hands in the air. Finally, Olly's breathing evened at the consolation that Clementine would be safe for another day. Immediately, Kenny was tied up like the everyone else and him and Clem were shoved with the others.

"Where's Luke?" Olivia's eyes scanned over to Kenny who showed no reaction to his question whatsoever, not even an inkling whether he was alive or not. "Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised? I warned you. I warned you not to follow him. And look where he's led you! But you're safe now. We're going home, as a family."

One by one, a person was taken. In the end, it was just Olly and Clementine... awaiting their turn. They both looked at each other, doing their best to reassure one another. It wasn't long before Joel pulled up his daughter and moved her forward. How had it come to this? She was hostage to a madman and her dad was his trusted lackey... willing to do anything he said. She hated what he had become and yet... part of her hoped it was just a façade and he still loved her.

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**IMPORTANT NOTICE: Okay, so the reunion didn't exactly go to planned, right? Now, I need everyone's help! I'm very indecisive about what should happen next. There are two options really; 1) Joel's aggression towards his daughter continues, but he's aggressive to everyone and has been since a certain event which I will not spoil. This will lead to more upsetting scenes and more confrontation between Olly and Luke in the end and when I say upsetting scenes... I mean it! Option number 2) Joel is still an aggressive character, that can't be avoided due to what he has been through, but he still cares for his daughter and everything he did in this chapter was for a purpose. This will probably lead to a "happier" outcome with Luke and Olivia. **

**I could really use the feedback because I have no idea which would be preferable to the readers and I won't be able to continue until you lovely people help me. Thanks again!**


	13. Chapter 13 - A Long Journey Back

TWD Chapter 13 – A Long Journey Back.

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It didn't take long before the group were hoarded in to a truck, after taking some time out for Carlos to patch up Joel. As Olivia was being shoved down in between Nick and Kenny, she was kind of hoping that Carlos did a botched up job of it, but knew it was just wishful thinking. Carlos wouldn't risk getting himself in trouble when he had Sarah to look after.

The truck Carver had stashed them in had been left just before the bridge, along with another vehicle for 'the boss' and his group. Obviously they couldn't pass the bridge with the vehicles so they must have walked the rest of the way to the ski lodge, which is where Clementine spotted the flash lights. Just thinking about what had happened made her numb. Olly felt exhausted physically and emotionally. All that sadness and anger she had experienced had left her drained, and now... she felt nothing but contempt.

As the truck pulled away she sighed. Her only hope now was Luke and she didn't even know if he was alive. Stubbornly, Kenny had refused to tell her anything about why he wasn't with him, which made her worry all the more. She had kissed him for this very reason and now she kind of regretted it, because it did almost feel like that was a goodbye. When she had done it, it was for the fear of never seeing him again and now, she really may never see him again.

Then, there was Joel. How did she feel about him, truly? Honestly, she had no idea. She hated him for hurting her, beating her... betraying her. All that time searching for him, she hadn't done it on a whim. Olly had never given up on him, not once. Sometimes her faith wavered to a point were she began to debate whether he was in fact alive, but she still continued searching and in that moment, her eyes falling on his, she felt complete again. Her father had raised her alone, never getting over the death of her mother. She remembered watching him fish on their boat, always trying to get her to join in and her always stubbornly refusing. She would always say 'I'd much rather just read, thanks.' Then, there were the times he'd come home late from work and he'd smile at her when he realised that she'd cleaned the house for him because she knew he'd be too tired to do it. But, knowing she'd need the company, he'd stay up a little longer with her and they'd just chat about stuff. Growing up, he'd been her father, her mother and her best friend.

Now what was he?

That first smack to the face broke her inside. Not once, not even when she had been especially nasty to him growing up during her teen years, had he hit her. Not once. He hadn't even shown her any emotion as he had done it. Then, when she had head butted Carver and Joel had slammed her down on the counter, the brute force he had used terrified her. At the time, she just wanted him dead... perhaps she still did.

"Are you all right, Olivia?" The young girl looked up at Carlos, an unsure expression graced her no longer lovely features.

At first she said nothing, hardly having the energy to speak... the fact it hurt to was an added bonus. She dreaded to think what her face looked like. "Peachy."

The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry. If I had known he was your father-"

Olly scowled. "Wait, what?! You knew him!"

He nodded. "Of course, he has been with Carver for a very long time."

His daughter shuddered beside him. "He scares me."

"You decide to tell me this now!" The anger she had felt returned in a storm, as did the pain. The bruising on her face did not help matters.

"Like Carlos said, we would have told you sooner that your father was a sonuvabitch had we known. It's not like you really look like him. Your hair is totally different." Nick defended him.

The revelation that her dad had been like this when they were with Carver before somehow made it hurt more. Had he... hurt them too? "So, he has always been like this?"

Carlos shook his head. "No. He had been our friend once." The sad tone in his voice told her that maybe Joel had meant a lot to them once.

Olly's curious mind couldn't stop herself from asking. "...What changed?"

"It doesn't fuckin' matter about all this shit! We need to figure out how the hell we're going to get outta here!"

"Kenny..." Sarita's attempted soothing voice did nothing to calm him down as he continued to scowl at the group.

Olly wasn't going to take that lying down, though. "It may not be a big fucking deal to you, but that man out there is my father and I loved him once! I dedicated my life to finding him again after this shit started and I want to know why the man I once knew, has become a fucking monster!" The whole truck had gone silent. During her rant, Olivia had stood up to glower down at Kenny and it was obvious he felt intimidated by her 'death glare', as Luke would have called it. When the man had finally broken eye contact with her, she sat herself back down and looked over at Carlos patiently. "What changed?"

Carlos coughed, still nervous by her outbreak of hostility. "When we escaped, well, it hadn't been the first time we had attempted it. A few months before, after Rebecca discovered she was pregnant..." Olly managed a glance towards said pregnant lady, who had been crying in to Alvin for a while before falling asleep in his arms. They both must have been truly exhausted to have not woken up by her shouting. "...Luke and Joel instigated a plan for us all to escape, but it went wrong. Joel took the blame for the whole thing, saving Luke, and the rest of us from the fate he had to endure. Carver tortured him. We're not sure for how long but the next time we saw your father, he was... different." Carlos stopped and shook his head sadly, his eyes tightly shut, as if trying to prevent the images from coming forward.

Nick continued for him and Olly listened intently. "We tried to make sure he was okay, talk to 'im, ya know. For weeks he wouldn't even look at us. We're still not sure what Carver did to him. We all agreed to wait until he was better before trying to get out again. Well, that's what we would have done. Except, he changed. When he finally started responding to us, he was aggressive. He'd do anything Carver told him to do, no matter what it cost his so-called fuckin' friends. When we told him ideas for our next escape, he went and told Carver, who then made an example of us all! He took away our meals and shoved us outside in the cold! Your father, whatever he was before, is no longer that person. He enjoys the violence and the death! I mean, look at what he did to you!"

"Just... shut up, Nick. I get it." A single tear drop rolled down Olly's cheek. The knowing that Carver was the creator of the monster she called 'Dad', killed her. When Carlos told her that they had once been friends and he had taken the wrap for everything they had done... a glimmer of hope flashed in her heart. That was the man she remembered.

"I'm sorry, Olly. It must be... hard."

Olly looked over at Clementine who was sharing her most sympathetic look. She gently wiped the tear off on her shoulder, her hands being bound making it impossible to use them. "Thank you, Clem. I'm sure I'll be fine... once I've had the opportunity to pierce Carver's heart with my sword, that is." More nervous glances were shared amongst the group, plainly concerned for her state of mind.

"As long as I get an invite to watch." Kenny seemed to be the only one vocally sharing her thoughts and feelings. Then again, Carver had killed his friend, Walter... everybody powerless to stop it, him especially.

Olivia sighed again and looked to Carlos. "How long will it take to get there?"

"A day, at least."

She nodded and turned to Nick. "D'ya mind if I... lean on you? I'm exhausted and my head kills."

He shook his head, and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder. It wasn't comfortable, him being a little skinnier than she liked, but it was reassuring all the same. Allowing herself to close her eyes was the best possible feeling she could have managed at that point. If her body allowed her rest, it would be welcomed gratefully. Any period of time where the pain could be forgotten would be precious indeed.

* * *

The truck jerked as it came to a stop causing Olivia to jolt awake. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep or why they had stopped... surely they couldn't be there already?

"It's a toilet break, nothing more." Carlos spoke as if realising her confusion and she nodded in return. A toilet break was the last thing on her mind right now. The shutters to the truck, were pulled up quickly, releasing sunlight inside of the vehicle and causing everyone's eyes to squint as they adjusted to the intrusion.

"Alright, who ever needs to go, get fuckin' gone." Troy appeared at the shutter opening, his figure blocking out the sunlight and causing a black silhouette that reached to the other side, making him much intimidating that he actually was.

Sarah looked over at her dad. "I need to go." Carlos looked down at his daughter, a sad look in his eyes.

"Right, then let's fuckin' go."

Sarah didn't budge. "...I'm afraid to go alone."

Troy groaned to himself. "I ain't got time for this shit. If you need to go, you'll fuckin' go!"

"Please, just let me or someone else go with her." Carlos pleaded.

He reluctantly agreed. "Fine. The other girl will go. Move it!" Clementine looked across at the rest of the group, before getting herself up off the ground.

"Clementine." She looked across at the sound of the broken red haired girl. "Be careful." She nodded and followed Sarah out of the vehicle. Before they could even gather a glimpse of the direction they had been heading in, the shutters were slammed shut and the darkness consumed them once again.

"You seem to really care about her." It wasn't a question. Olivia turned to Sarita who was studying her profusely. Kenny was doing the same, more so in fact.

"I'm not too sure what I'm supposed to say? I do?"

"Well, what's the story? How did you meet?" _Kennys turn to interrogate apparently. _

Olly scowled at him. "Is this really the time?"

"I just want to know why you you seem to give more of a fuck about her than the others, that's all."

"Hey, that's not fair, man. We all care for Clementine." Alvin spoke for the first time. Olly hadn't even realised that Rebecca and him had awoken.

"Sure, it may seem that way, but it looked to me as if me and her where the only ones willin' to put our lives on the line for her." Kenny had pointed towards Olivia at that moment, i**nstantaneously **making her feel uncomfortable.

"I have a name, Kenny."

He ignored her. "The rest of you didn't seem to be doin' fuck all actually. In fact, even when your friend was being beat to a fuckin' pulp, you did nothin'!" Olivia was too tired for these petty arguments... she didn't need this.

"What could we have done? We were bound. It would have achieved nothing." Carlos spoke calmly, a conflicting tone to Kenny's aggressive one.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe she'd be able to see out of both eyes, instead of one!"

"All of you, just stop. I do not have the energy for this." _Looks like Rebecca's feeling the strain too._

Suddenly, the shutters were yanked open again and both figures of the girls came in to view. "Are you okay, Clem?" Olly's maternal intonation returned, but the girl said nothing and just sat back down in her previous spot.

That's when the red bruise on her cheek came in to view. "The hell did he do to you?" Kenny wasn't the only one flipping out. "Did he hurt you? Hey. Hey!" The shutter slammed shut, preventing his rage from travelling.

"You stupid fuck!" Olly clambered over to the shutters and kicked them once.

"Hey, cut that shit out, Olly. You'll get us in to trouble."

Nick promptly received the 'death glare', but her features quickly calmed. She turned to Clementine and sat in front of her, checking out the bruise that had formed on her cheek.

"Is she okay?" Kenny appeared from behind her, an angry vibe emitting from him.

"I'm fine!" Clementine assured them. They didn't look appeased however.

"Did that little pissant do this to you?" Slowly, Clementine nodded to him. It looked like it hurt.

"She didn't answer him, so he hit her!" Sarah's childish voice appeared from beside Carlos who was now sitting considerably closer to his daughter. Instead of moving back to her original spot, Olly stayed beside Clementine in an obvious attempt to comfort her, not that she needed it. As Pete had put it once; 'kid is tough as nails'. Kenny decided that Olivia knew what she was doing so moved back beside his... partner, Sarita.

There was a lot of pent up anger inside the truck which certainly gave it a heavy atmosphere. For a long time, everybody was silent. Nobody knew what to say or think. Every second that passed, they got closer to their new prison and this wasn't lost on anyone. What scared Olly the most was the unknown. Carlos, Alvin, Rebecca, Sarah, Nick... they all knew what to expect! But she was in the dark.

The first to speak was Kenny, who had been gazing around the truck for a long time. "All right, we gotta do something. Com'on. Anyone got anything sharp? Anything? We need to get these bindings off." Nobody answered. "Hey! Clem, help me find something to get these off. Anything sharp that could cut these..."

"And what good is that gonna do?" The feisty spark that Rebecca once possessed was gone. To her, they had already lost.

"The hell is wrong with you people? We gotta get out of here."

"Kenny, there's nothing here! I want to get out as much as you do, but there's fuckin' nothing!" The red head glared through her hair, too tired to lift her head fully to look at him.

"Look, we're in a fuckin' precarious situation here. We gotta do something about it!"

"Settle down, Kenny. Olivia is right. They took everything. We have to keep a level head." Carlos attempted his typical calm demeanour, but Olly no longer believed it.

"He's right. You don't know Bill like we do." Rebecca reasoned.

"Bill? This whole time he's Carver, Carver, Carver, now he's fuckin' Bill? Oh I see how it is. Y'all are just getting' a ride home, aren't ya? That's what's goin' on here." _Kenny did have a point. Where the fuck had 'Bill' come from?_

"Say that again." Nick's attempt at being 'tough' was pathetic. She had seen that when they first met.

"I'd stay out of this boy."

"Will both of you just shut the fuck up?" Olly's tired eyes didn't even care to scowl at them this time. It felt like that was all she had done since getting in this claustrophic metal can. Apparently, nobody was listening to her, though.

"You don't understand, Kenny. He's different... he's worse."

"The fuck are you talkin' about?"

"He wants to punish us."

Olivia flipped out. "What? He hasn't done enough? He's already turned my damn dad in to a fuckin' robot and got him to beat me for his fucked up pleasure! There's nothing else he could do to me!"

"So you agree with me, then. That we need to break the fuck outta here?" Kenny turned to her hopefully.

"Of course I do! But I ain't leaving until I see him lying dead in a puddle of his own blood." More worried looks were exchanged, but she didn't care. Her heart was set on it.

Carlos turned to her. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!"

Before she could answer, Kenny took her response straight out of her mouth. "Oh, he gave me a pretty good goddamn idea back at the lodge. He killed Walter, beat her..."

"Again with the name thing."

"... and he's already hit Clementine! I'm not about to let anything else happen to the rest of us. I'm trying to help!"

"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help!" _Frustrated Carlos, making another appearance. I miss the good ol' days of trying to fend off Rebecc__a__ and having Luke by my side all the time... I miss him. I can't deal with these people with out him. _Olly had to sniff up to prevent herself crying at the thought.

"That's not fair! You're blaming him for the actions of a madman." Seeing Sarita defend Kenny made her feel more sick... Would Luke have defended her back at the lodge? Somehow, she imagined he would have, and she managed a smile.

"I am pointing out that, regardless of intent, there are consequences to rash action. Something that he seems to be misreading as capitulation."

"I don't know what the fuck you're saying, but I know that it's bullshit! We have to do something!"

"Kenny, you know that I agree with you, but we have to play this smart! I don't want to end up dead before I get the chance to bring Carver with me." Olly appealed.

"Nobody here is going to end up dead!" Kenny looked behind Olivia's head after glancing away from her for a second. "Oh shit, jackpot!" Kenny staggered across the truck, narrowly missing hitting Olly in the face.

"Sit down! You're going to get us all killed." _If we haven't managed to talk him down yet, nothing will... Why can't Carlos see that?_

"Ya'll don't know what you're talking about. We get cooped up in some kennel like a buncha fuckin' dogs, it's over."

"You don't know that."

"Kenny, please... calm down. I think everyone is just tired and cranky."

"She's right, we should all take it down a bit." _You know it's fucked when __loud mouth __Rebecca gives in to a little girl, __even if it is Clementine__._

"All right, now we're talkin'." The rope that bound Kenny's hands together fell to the floor with a thud as he stroked his wrists.

"Carver will be on the other side of that door with ten people." Sarah began crying at Carlos' side as he spoke causing him to sigh. "At this point, maybe Luke is the only hope we have." Just at the mention of his name Olly's heart fluttered, beating a little faster.

"If he was gonna do something he'd've done it by now."

Oh, hell no. Olivia rose to meet Kenny's towering form. She was smaller than him, she was smaller than everyone apart from the kids, but she stood proud. "Luke wouldn't abandon us! He's not like that! Don't fuckin' dare to even question him when you don't know a thing about him."

"Oh, yeah. How well do you know lover boy? Truly, how well?" A slight stutter gave Kenny all the clarification he needed. "Exactly my point! He ain't fuckin' coming."

"Olivia's right. Who knows what he's dealing with out there. Anything can happen out there."

"I'll tell you what happened: he abandoned us."

"Screw you, Kenny. You don't know that." Olly got a little closer to him.

"Well, I know he ain't here."

"He may not be around, but he wouldn't just leave us behind." Rebecca glared at Kenny from where she sat on the ground. It didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Luke will help us." The fact that Clementine also believed in him gave Olly a lot of pride... and relief.

"Oh, yeah? When? After that crazy fuck's killed us all?!" A lot of shocked expressions greeted him, Clementine's especially. Kenny was quite frightening when he got going. Once he realised, he managed to lower his volume and calm himself a little, but it did not deter him. "Hey, look, Clem..." Another jolt of the truck interrupted him and told them they were almost there. "Okay, let's do this."

Rebecca glanced at him with disbelief. "They have guns. What exactly do you expect to do?"

"I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see. Then I'm gonna take his gun and shoot the NEXT sonuvabitch I see."

"Brilliant plan! Fuckin' flawless. How didn't I come up with that?" For a few seconds, Olivia and Kenny glowered at one another, neither of them flinching, neither of them backing down. "Look, I already told you that I'm gonna kill that fucker, but you're just going to get us all killed by being a god damn idiot."

Kenny didn't answer her. "Hey, Clem... uh, just if something happens, just help out, okay? Don't, you know, get yourself hurt or nothin', but any help'd be good."

"Don't get her involved! Are you crazy?!"

Kenny didn't even acknowledge her, just awaited Clem's response who looked nervous enough as it is. "Hey, Clem... Look at me. You trust me, right?"

"I'm scared." Those simple words broke Olly's heart. She knelt before Clem and placed a bound hand on her knee.

"Okay, hon. That's okay... that's okay." Kenny turned around to face the shutters. "All right. Everybody re-" The truck came to a shuddering halt causing the man to fall forward and hit his head as he he flung forward, then backwards.

"Kenny!" Sarita ran to her lover's side who was now dazed and out of it. "Kenny? Are you okay?"

Olivia smiled slightly. "Well, if the truck hadn't of done it, I would have."

"That's not funny!" Sarita growled at her.

"Oh... what hit me?" Kenny raised a hand to rub against the throbbing in his head.

"Probably for the best."

A few seconds later, the shutters screeched open once again. Relief washed over everyone, if only for a second, at the thought of escaping the confined space they had been left in. It was soon replaced with a large amount of dread at the prospect of being stuck in another prison.

Three people greeted them on the other side. Troy, the girl Bonnie and another woman. "Com'on. Up and at 'em."

They all exited the vehicle in single file, Nick leading the way. It wasn't long before Troy noticed Kenny's lack of restraints. "The fuck? How'd you get your restraints off? C'mere." Kenny glanced at Clem before strolling off after Troy. Olivia stayed beside the girl. If they were going to go through this, they'd do it together.

As they were being marched, to where Olivia assumed they would be staying, Carver was voicing some bullshit over some kind of intercom. It was something about 'time healing wounds' and some other crap. She wasn't paying attention, she didn't care enough to listen. She was more interested in where they were going. They were obviously in some kind of tool hardware store or warehouse?

"Look at how much food they have..." It was true, they had quite a lot of food. They probably scavenged all the surrounding areas.

"I do hope you ain't saying what I think you're saying." Olly rolled her eyes at him. He could be such a jerk.

"Com'on Carlos, we need ya for something." Troy tempted him forward with his finger.

"Can it wait until morning? We're all exhausted."

"Just come the fuck on." The doctor sighed before following the violent, aggressive man who Olly couldn't despise more if she tried.

"I need him. I need my dad. I can't... he... looks after me." Sarah's pleas fell on deaf ears. At this point, Olly really couldn't be bothered to put up with Sarah's childish nature. It was awful because she was just a kid, but Carlos shielding her from the truth of the world hadn't done her any favours.

Apparently Clementine had more patience than she did. "He'll be back."

"When?"

"I don't know. But he will come back."

Sarah paused. "Thanks."

It wasn't long before the group were faced with another damn shutter. Bonnie knelt before it and unlocked it. "Make sure y'all stay off the fence. Bill can see if you're messin' with it." It was promptly opened after that, allowing them passage inside. The only thing Olly could think about was how much she wanted Carver to shut up. His voice was still blasting away for everybody to hear... how much she'd love to be the one to quieten him.

The place they were guided in to certainly wasn't paradise, it was to be expected of course. Bill Carver could spout that bullshit about being their 'guests', but they wasn't! They were prisoners, fair and square. Guests have the option to leave.

Quickly, their bindings were removed and they all slowly turned their wrists to get movement in them again. "Ya'll better get some rest, 'cause there ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow. You're gonna be workin' hard." _Pff, we'll see about that. _

"That's for you." Bonnie pointed to a mattress in the far corner.

Rebecca huffed. "Yeah, it would be. Fuckin' Bill. Keeps me out in the cold, but at least I'll be comfortable."

Olivia shook her head at the commotion. She didn't understand Rebecca. Not. One. Bit.

"Hey, guys."

"Reggie?!"

Olly did NOT have the energy for this. She could be called fucking rude all they liked, she didn't want to meet anyone, talk to anyone... They could have their little reunion, but she would not be a part of that. The red head strolled over to one of the shitty makeshift 'beds', if they could be called that and threw herself on the 'top-bunk' of one. The looks she received did not go unnoticed. They were talking about her, well let them talk.

"Alvin. Carver wants you in his office." Her ears perked up at that. She even allowed her head to lift up slightly.

"What? Why?"

"Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that."

"No! Please!" _When had pleading ever worked, Rebecca._

"It's okay, Bec. Just get some rest. If he wanted to do somethin' to me, he'd have done it already." _Bullshit. Alvin knows what he's in for. So did my Dad. We just have to hope to find him before __Carver__ goes too far __and kills him._

Alvin was quickly escorted out by an armed guard, nobody able to do anything. Olly slammed her head back down on the 'bed'. Her mind mulled over possible ways to get to Carver. His office had to be where that damn intercom thing came from, right? Maybe she could sneak in there tomorrow...

"My name's Clementine."

"It's very nice to meet you, Clementine... and who's that? She doesn't seem too... friendly." Olivia's mind was failing to block them out and now she had to listen to them talk about her.

"She's been through some shit." _That's putting it mildly, Rebecca._ "It's kinda a long story."

"Hm. Well, you'll have to tell me about it sometime."

Olly immediately rolled over and pulled her 'pillow', or sack of straw as it should have been renamed, over her head. Once she had sufficiently blocked out their voices to a muffle, she brought her thoughts back to the issue at hand. Carver. She wondered how she'd kill him. Would she kill him quickly, or let him linger? Would she make him feel exactly what he had done to her deep inside? Would she give a speech before ending his life? How would she do it?

"Hey, Olly! You awake?"

Olly sighed before removing the pillow from her head and popped her head down over the side. Nick had laid himself on the bottom 'bed' below her. "Yeah, I'm awake."

"Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Do you think Luke's coming? Because, I think he is. All these years I've known him and I just can't see him leavin' us. What do you think?"

"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself."

"I don't know. Maybe I am. It'd be easier if you convinced me, though. You've gotten pretty... close to him since you met, what do you think?"

"I think you should believe in him a bit more. He's coming."

"You're right. Sorry." Olly laid herself back down, her head on top of the pillow this time. She tried to think about Luke. It made everything easier when she did. She was less angry at everything when she did. Luke would have had a plan... if he was here, he'd have gotten them out. "So, are you okay, Olly? It got pretty heated in the truck and I'm worried about you... I've never seen you be like that, not even at me when I-"

"I'm fine. Just tired. Go to sleep, Nick." He sighed. They both shut their eyes tightly, trying to let sleep take them. With Olly being as exhausted as she was, it didn't take as long as she thought it would... but sweet dreams never came. Instead, she was plagued by nightmares.

* * *

**Okay, so I know this was kind of a filler chapter, but it's essential in seeing where Olly's state of mind is. I promise, we'll see more Joel in the next chapter which will hopefully be up pretty quickly. Thanks again for all those lovely reviews. I am not a very motivated person because I am so easily distracted, but your reviews motivate me, so thanks. I'm sure the next chapter will be much more enjoyable and I'm REALLY looking forward to writing the 'father/daughter' interaction. Oh, the feels! Thanks to 'clemetargaryen ', 'jennn18', 'Mythical Annie-Rose', 'Hdawg', 'RWBYJNPRCRDL' and 'OtherLikeofELMO' for reviewing the last chapter. I've come to a decision about what path this story is going to take and it's going to be one heck of a bumpy ride. I hope you stick around for it!**


	14. Chapter 14 - Conflicting Feelings

**Okay, side note before we begin. A little while ago, I started a FanFiction for Fallout 3 which based around the relationship of the Lone Wanderer and her father. I don't know if there any fans of Fallout who are reading this, but if there are; would anyone be interested in reading it? If so, just let me know in the review section or by PM. Thanks. **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

TWD Chapter 14 – Conflicting Feelings.

* * *

"Olly, wake up." Olivia could feel herself being shaken awake and she tried, with all her might, to ignore it. By the sound of the voice, said person shaking her was Nick. "Olly, you gotta wake up. Carver's comin'." Her eyes shot open at that. She'd almost forgotten where she was. Damn.

"Fine, I'm awake." The whole of her body ached from the way she had slept and her neck was crooked from that damn pillow. The only silver lining she could think of was the fact her wounds felt a little better. Olivia dragged herself upwards and then flopped over the side of the bed. Looking around, she and Clementine were the last to be awoken. Unfortunately, Clem had to suffer bastard Troy waking her up. She walked over to the little girl who was stretching herself, obviously feeling very similar to herself. "You okay, Clem?" She nodded.

Behind them, the main shutters clattered open, giving them the cue to go join the others. Carver strolled in, a very arrogant aura emanating from him. Once he was satisfied that everyone was in front of him, he shoved a hand in his pocket and began another bullshit preach. "There's been increased walker activity along the fence so be mindful when outside the walls. The herd's moved a little closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't mean we'll be hit. Know we're monitoring the situation. Now..." He paused as if preparing himself for a life saving speech. Olly just huffed at him, but he didn't seem to notice. "There are some folks might be sore about what happened... at how things went. Well, that's all in the past now... some of you are new to our community. Some of you are members who went astray..." Olivia stopped listening. If Carver thought she was going to make this easy for him, he had another thing coming. She was going to spend every waking moment here planning to get out, preferably with Carver's head in her hands. It would be nice to be able to grab some of that food before they got out too. It would be difficult to make it anywhere with out it.

"Carlos!" The sudden shout caused Olly to jump, perhaps making it obvious she hadn't been paying attention.

"Yes?"

"Your child seems to be in need of correction." _Uh oh. What had Sarah done? It can't have been that bad... this is Sarah we're talking about here. _

"I'm sorry, I- Sarah a- apologize to Mr. Carver." _Okay, where the heck was Carlos? This __blustering__ mess was not him!_

"S- I'm... sorry, sir." Sarah was clutching her sleeve nervously, unable to meet Bill's gaze, who was frowning at both Carlos and Sarah, furiously.

"No, no. That ain't gonna cut it. I can't have this kind of behaviour on day one of your reform. You discipline her now, Carlos." Carver finished with one sharp point towards Carver, as if he was the one doing the disciplining.

"How do you propose I-"

"One good smack across the mouth should do it. It'll make her think twice before opening it again. Go on, we'll wait." Carver folded his arms, and started tapping his left foot, dramatising his point more than he needed to.

"My... I'm not sure with my hand that I could-" Carlos held up his mending hand in the hope of persuading them he was incapable, but Carver wasn't having any of it.

"That's why you've got two hands, Carlos! Come on. And not some namby pamby thing, all right? A good hard smack. Otherwise, Troy here will do it for ya."

Olly was no longer able to hold her tongue. "Is this how you get your kicks? She's just a kid! She didn't know she was doing anything wrong!"

Carver glared at her. "It's a shame Joel has already been set to work. It seems you're in need of more … guidance. Ah well, I'm sure it can be arranged." A knowing smile appeared on his face, which angered her more. She began to storm towards him, prepared to hurt him any way she could, before a small hand grasped on to hers and pulled her back. It was Clem.

Carlos, obviously seeing no way out of it, turned to his daughter. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry." Sarah was shaking now, unable to comprehend why her Dad was turning on her.

"Close your eyes honey. It's only going to sting for a second." Sarah did as was bid, her back arched slightly in fear.

Carlos was reluctant to hurt her and for that, Olivia was thankful. Carver, this monster, seemed to enjoy turning fathers against their daughters. _He's done it __to__ me and now... he's doing it to Sarah._

"Do it." With that, Carlos struck his daughter hard across the cheek. Sarah yelped in pain as the force of the blow caused her to fall straight to the floor. Her hand went to her cheek as she cried, which was now a royal red colour.

Carlos stared down at this daughter, dumbstruck. Then, he shook his head as if to snap himself out of his trance. "I'm sorry, Sarah." He attempted to aid his daughter before Carver intercepted him.

"Stop! You're not coddling that girl anymore. Let her sit there and think about what she's done." _Bastard._ "Troy, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else should have their assignments. It's time to get to work." _Assignments? What fricking assignments? _

Troy strolled over to Carlos, a smirk plastered on his face. "God damn, you really knocked the shit outta her, Doc."

"Everyone get to work!" Carver scowled at the lot of them, before turning to leave.

"Hey! What the heck am I supposed to be doing?" He turned back to her, a smile evident in the gleam in his eyes. "Ah, yes. You're in the garage today. Tavia will escort you there." With that, he strolled off. _Pompous asshole._

"You're in the armory." Olly turned around to see who she assumed was Tavia talking to Clementine. Tavia then turned to the redhead. "The garage is past the armory, you're with me too."

They were both escorted through the main warehouse building again, past a lot of prying eyes. Olly wondered if any of them were stuck here, like Rebecca and the rest had been, or if they were assholes like Troy, Carver... and her dad. It wasn't long before Clementine and Olivia had to part ways, very reluctantly. As much as she didn't like the thought of the little girl being forced in to child labour, she'd much rather she do as she was told, so she didn't get hurt.

Tavia guided Olivia further in to the warehouse, until they came to an opening, which led to more outdoors. A path was perfectly crafted, using wooden fences, towards a lonely looking garage. "You'll be helping repair things that need maintenance."

With a puzzled expression, Olly questioned. "Helping?"

Tavia didn't say anything, just continued walking. Once they reached the garage, the door was pulled open and inside was a scrubby looking workshop, but it was larger than she expected. All around lay loose bolts and screws and odd electrical tools. She stepped inside and that's when she noticed a man in the corner. He was wearing a tank top which revealed a very scarred but well shaped body. He was wearing scruffy overalls in which the arms hung loosely around his waist. He was hammering in to some metal, the scars on his stretched with each hit. He had his back to her, but it was obvious who it was by his shaggy greying hair.

The garage door slammed shut behind her. Furious, she turned and kicked the door as hard as she could. She screeched with irritation, a fist flying towards the exit, hitting it once again.

"Good to see you, too." Joel turned to his daughter, throwing the hammer on the table beside him.

"Fuck you." Olly glowered at her Dad from across the other side of the room, her hands clenched in to tight fists.

He sighed heavily. "That's the way it's going to be, then." He returned to work, his back greeting her once again and a hammer slammed against metal.

She just stood there, staring at him in disbelief. Had he seriously just said that? "You're fucking kidding me, right? Look at what you did to me!" He didn't. "LOOK!" The unexpected tone of her voice commanded him to stop and turn. Looking at his daughter, he saw a lot of pain, confliction, fear and most of all... hate. He had done that to her.

"I know what I did." A silent pause consumed the room as they looked at one another. They both bore scars that would never heal, the only difference being, one set were caused by the other person.

"I searched for you. I gave everything in to finding you. I denied myself safety to try and find you! I killed for you!" Joel showed no emotion as she wailed at him, her high pitch tone emanated from her crying. "Did you even care? Did you even look for me?"

"Of course I looked! I searched for a long fuckin' time! Everything I have done is because of you!"

Now it was Olly's turn to be dumbstruck. "How can you possibly say that?" Her tone had quietened to almost a whisper, her voice strained as tears welled in her eyes.

Joel placed both his hands over a counter, as if he would push it a way in a fit of rage at any moment. He breathed heavily, attempting to calm himself. "I searched for a long time. When we were flung off that boat, I saw you get washed away and I did everything I could to try and go after you... but I was hit in the head. I don't remember what happened after that. All I know is when I opened my eyes it was dark and I wasn't alone. A family, who had tried to escape too, saved me. I didn't stick around long... I got supplies and left as quick as I could in the hope that someone had saved you too."

Olly's sad eyes glistened as tears fell down her cheeks, silently. "Why did you hurt me? Why?! Why did you do this to me, Dad?!"

"Because you left me no choice!" Olivia's face morphed in to confusion. _What did he mean? "_Running up to us was your first fuckin' mistake after the way you treat Carver on your first meeting-"

"My first meet-?" Olly mulled over what he said, shock soon overtaking her. "How do you know about that?"

He sighed again. "He came back after that day, questioning me on whether I had a daughter. I knew he had met you, and he knew too. You didn't exactly leave the best first impression on a proud fuckin' man!"

"That's it? That's why you hit me?!" Olly arms went in the air, exasperated, before leaving to rub her temple.

"Then of course, you had to use your mother's smart mouth to go and insult him! Then to put the fuckin' icing on the goddamn cake, you attacked him!" Joel had stormed over to her at this point, his figure far superior to hers as he glowered down at her.

"I was trying to protect my group! The people who had taken care of me-"

"Yeah? Look how that turned out for you!" He gestured to the scars on her face. "Look at how it turned out for me!" He then revealed his own scars caused by Carver. "This is what helping people does to you! It gets you killed." Joel strolled back over to his work station, a hand running through his hair. He had gotten old since the last time Olly had seen him. "We better get some work done, Carver will come to check up on you soon." His voice was now a lot more gentle as he spoke. It almost sounded like it had done when she was growing up.

Olivia slowly walked over to where her father was. Looking at him now, she didn't know what to think. He claimed that all he had done, he had done for her... but the pain she had felt told her something different. "I know what Carver did to you."

The corner of his eyes, met hers. "Oh you do, do you?"

"I know he tortured you... What I don't understand is what happened afterwards. Why did you betray your friends?!"

Joel chuckled darkly. "'Friends.' Right. Sure, they were my friends. We planned for ages to get out of this shithole. Rebecca wanted to get out because she fucked Carver and got pregnant and didn't want Alvin finding out. Luke wanted to get out because Carver wouldn't listen to how he wanted to run things so he spat his dummy out. Nick would do anything Luke told him to, as would the rest of his little family and Carlos... Carlos was the only one I really cared for. He had Sarah and wanted to protect her. I could relate. Once I got out, I had planned to start searching for you again. Carlos said he'd help me."

Olly was shocked. She had no idea about any of this. It was obvious to her that Carlos had cared for Joel back in the truck, it hadn't occurred to her just how much. "Then, what happened?"

His eyes clenched shut at the memories. "I was caught trying to steal some pliers and the whole plan went south. Carver beat me until I bled a few times, trying to get me to admit to any help I had. Stubbornly, I refused, thinking I could take it. When I didn't, it got worse..." He refused to go in to any details. Olly wouldn't have been able to take it if he had anyway. "So, I wisen'd the fuck up. I started doing as I was told and ya know what, I'm glad of it! My life is a fuckin' breeze now."

Olly glared at him, her hands on her hips. "So that's it? You're content to be a fucking slave because it's 'easier'?!" He ignored her and decided to return to work instead. "You're not my dad. My dad wouldn't just give up like this."

"If I was still the man that brought you up, I'd be dead." Olly started poking around the workshop, no emotion present in her features. It was her turn to give HIM the silent treatment. "You're also not the daughter I brought up." She paused for just a second, that the only indication she'd heard him. "The little girl I brought up wouldn't kill... anyone. The little girl I brought up wouldn't show her frustration by hitting inanimate objects. The little girl I brought up wouldn't be so goddamn stupid and actually believe that I don't give a fuck about her. We've all changed." Olly turned towards him, only to stumble straight in to her dad who had, in fact, gradually been getting closer to her. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't want to do it and it killed me to actually see you think I meant it. I thought you, of all people, would have seen the truth. Evidently I was wrong."

She shook her head sadly, her eyes moving towards the floor. "Or maybe I've just lost sight of what is right and wrong these days."

Joel smirked. "There's no such thing as right and wrong any more. Only survival." He gently pulled her in to a hug, resting his chin on top of her head. The comforting feeling, she hadn't felt since the day this started, overwhelmed her. At first she fought against it, but he held closer still. Eventually, she clutched his tank tightly, crying hard in to his shoulder. Her knees almost buckled, but his strength kept her upright.

They stayed like that for a long while. It meant a lot to Joel for her to finally see, and hopefully understand, why he had done what he did. For so long, he had looked after himself because he had no choice. He never wanted to endure what he had by Carver's hand again... now there was Olivia to think of too. She had to wisen up and start looking out for herself more. If only she wasn't so pigheaded.

When Olly pulled away, Joel wiped away the remaining tear on her cheek and smiled down at her. The first proper smile he had achieved since discovering she was alive. "We need to get some work done."

Olivia scoffed. "You actually think I'm going to work for that asshole."

"For god's sake. Carver knows you're going to cause him trouble and it's what he wants! He wants to punish you." Rebecca's words, from the truck, echoed in her mind. "Please honey, I don't want to have to hit you again..." Olly's heart ached at the sound of him calling her 'honey' once again. Unaware, she nodded her head. "Good. Grab that soldering iron from over there, will you?"

Olly strolled over to where her father had pointed and picked up the bit of equipment before passing it to him. "Why are they even trusting me in here?"

He laughed. "They aren't trusting you, they're trusting me." He 'fired up' the soldering iron and got to work on repairing some loose bits of wire. Olly didn't really get what he was doing. It looked as if he was trying to repair some kind of transformer.

"So, it's that easy, is it? You do as your told for a little while and they start trusting you with deadly equipment."

"It takes a lot longer than just 'a little while'. Besides, a soldering iron is hardly 'deadly'." He mumbled, his concentration levels high. "Pass me that duct tape beside you, will ya?" She did as she was told with out being fully aware, her mind mulling over questions she wanted answering.

"Why didn't Reggie go through what you did? He helped the group escape, didn't he?"

Joel smirked. "Put it this way, I wasn't exactly 'polite' to Carver when he beat me."

Olly smiled at the thought. "That sounds like my dad." There was a comfortable silence between the pair, one she had worried she'd never feel again. Propping herself on the counter, Olivia took another look around the workshop. It was a mess. It reminded her of how her father's room at been back in Savannah... severely disorganised. Looking over at Joel, she noticed a scar on his lip, that ran from the bottom of his nose to his chin, which she hadn't noticed before. "Should I be doing something?"

He nodded. "Probably. You were always useless at D.I.Y though."

"Ha. Ha. Funny."

He chuckled lightly to himself. "Get your ass here then." She jumped off the counter and stood by his side. "Hold that." He gestured to a tiny bit of a wire covering, which he had stripped down to expose the wire inside. He moved to solder the wire to the other half which he had also stripped down.

"You'll come with us, won't you? When we leave, I mean."

He scowled. "What makes you so sure you're getting out?"

"I'm not you, Dad. I can't be happy slaving about, doing as I'm told... Not when the only thing I can think about is ending that fucker's life."

He stopped soldering and looked at her. "Has everything I've said gone straight over your head."

She didn't have the opportunity to respond before the sound of the garage door opening interrupted her. Predictably, in came Carver. "How's it comin', Joel?"

"Almost done. Just need to replace some of what I've stripped back and redo some of the copper coating and it'll be ready."

"Good. Good." His weasel gaze soon turned on Olly, assessing her behaviour. "How's the new member of our community holdin' up?"

Joel gazed at her from the corner of his eye before turning to 'the boss'. "She gave me a little lip at first, but she soon got in to it."

"Is that right? Tavia told me she heard her kick the garage door..."

Joel interrupted, a stoic expression clouding how he truly felt. "Yeah, I already punished her for that. She soon gave in and got to work."

Carver smiled. "Good. I'm glad I can count on you, Joel. She'll be one of us soon enough." Evidently Olly hadn't mastered the 'emotionless' look her father had as she unconsciously scowled at him. "Well, since you're almost finished here, Olivia will help out with building the fences. An incident there now requires extra hands to get it fixed. They're easy enough to find, I'm sure you'll manage." Once Carver's back was to the both of them, Olly 'flipped the bird' at him, satisfied by her father's snicker.

Once he finished laughing, they both shared a smile. It quickly faltered when she realised what her dad had just done for her. "Thanks for... ya know." He nodded lightly. "I guess I better get going, then." She began walking after Carver, before her father called her back.

"Oh, Olivia! I almost forgot." She turned to the sight of him rummaging through a bag of stuff. She gasped at the sight of her father's hat when he turned around. "Here." The memory of her being hit and watching it fly off, flashed in her mind. He held it out to her, but she refused to take it.

"It's yours. I had always intended to give it back to you, if I found you again. Looks like I don't have to now."

He shook the hat in his hand for a second, before slipping it on his head. "Speak soon, honey."

She nodded before strolling out the garage and pulling it shut behind her. A rollercoaster of emotions whizzed through her and it was almost too much. Everything had changed again and her feelings had been flipped backwards. All that hate, all that betrayal... it could now be forwarded to the right person. Carver. Joel wasn't the same man she had known for all those years, but part of him was still there and she would hang on to it. She had lost him once... she wouldn't lose him again.

It didn't take long to find the area where the fences needed repairing considering the whole place was marked out. The groans of walkers as she walked down the path, raised in volume. Indeed, walker activity had increased. "Hey there, darlin'." Olivia cringed at the sound of Troy's voice, an evident sweet talking tone to it. "You're in here to help out, right? Bill radioed. Best behave... otherwise I'll have to punish you." He winked at her instantly sending shivers down her spine. _Fuckin' creep. _She reached the end of the pathway, pushed passed him and entered the door on the far end and slammed it behind her.

"Oh, look who it is." Kenny's unimpressed tone sounded from the other side of the room. "I suppose anyone's better than that asshole, Troy."

She nodded in agreement. "I'm supposed to be helping you with the fences or something."

"Windows actually, some of them broke in here a little while a go. My name's Mike, by the way." A man Olly hadn't even noticed before, stepped forward and held out his hand in welcome.

She looked at it suspiciously before slowly shaking it. "Olly."

"Nice to meet you." He gave her a warm smile which she struggled to return.

"Are you two just gonna fuckin' stand there!" Kenny held up his hands, in one hand was a board and in the other a hammer.

Mike scowled at him. "Oh, so now you're willing to do some work."

"I'd just rather not nearly die again, asshole!"

Olly looked at the broken window quizzically. "What the heck happened?"

"Kenny decided it would be a good idea to start a fight with me, then that little girl, Clementine, came in-"

"Wait, Clem was here? She wasn't hurt was she?!"

"No, she was fine! Got sent right on her way, though." Kenny held the board up to the window. "Anyone gonna fuckin' help me here?"

Olivia tutted before moving over to hold the board down for Kenny. Mike took the job of cutting the boards. Kenny nailed it down as tight as he could before moving to collect the next board.

The door to the renovated store opened and in came Troy, a smirk on his face. He propped himself against a shelf, his gun still in hand. Olivia watched him cautiously from the corner of her eye and it didn't go unnoticed by her that his gaze was landing on a certain part of her anatomy. She gulped, immediately feeling uncomfortable. "Hey Olivia, come over her a minute."

"I'm busy, sorry." Olly's heart hammered in her chest. She did NOT like the look Troy was giving her. She obviously wasn't the only one who noticed as the others were giving questioning glances also.

"I said get the fuck here, now!" She paused mid step. _Com'on Olly. There's no need to be afraid of that asshole. If he tries anything, I can take him down. _She tentatively moved towards Troy, who grinned menacingly at her submission. Once she was close enough he moved them so they were out of sight and earshot. Now she was scared. He had a gun and she was unarmed. She was pretty certain this wasn't in his job description either. "What d'ya say me and you go next door, hm?" His hand reached round and squeezed her behind provocatively. Now, she was pissed. With a face of pure terror, Olly spat in his eye and rose her knee to his genitals. Using Troy's anguish as an exit time, she sprinted out of the store and speed walked down the pathway, more tears springing from her eyes.

_That fuckin' bastard. That disgusting little... worm! He tries anything like that again and I'll cut his damn balls off-" _Her inner rant was soon interrupted by a pair of arms that laced around her waist and quickly brought her in to another store. "Get the fuck off me! Don't fuckin' touch me!" A hand soon snaked around her mouth in an attempt to muffle her screams.

"Hey, Olly! It's me!"

Her throat hitched at the sound of his silky voice. "Luke!"

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**I'm cruel, aren't I? Sorry. This chapter has definitely been one of my favourites to write. So many feels! I hope it's now obvious what path I chose, but I need to make it clear that when I said "happier"... I probably should have said "happier than the other option". The other option had A LOT of upsetting scenes. I'm actually kind of glad you guys wanted the happier option because I'm going to love writing all the scenes with Olly and Joel. Still expect some conflict, though. It's to be expected. Oh and Troy's a creep! **

**Anyways, just wanted to thank you ALL again for reading. **

**A special thanks to 'jennn18' for another lovely review. Your comments are always lovely.**

**A special thanks to 'RogueMetamorph' for your review, it was much appreciated.**

**A special thanks to 'Hdawg', I hope this chapter answered your question.**

**A special thanks to 'thesameoldfearsx' for a kind review, I hope this chapter met your standards and was what you wanted.**

**A special thanks to 'Mythical Annie-Rose' for another REALLY kind review. I'm super glad you're enjoying this.**


	15. Chapter 15 - A Fine Line

TWD Chapter 15 – A fine line.

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"Luke!"

The staggering relief and happiness she felt caused her to pull him in to a crushingly tight hug. Tears flowed in to his shoulder as she cried heavily in to him. "Hey, hey. S-sh. Don't cry." Her response was inaudible, so he did his best to comfort her, running a hand up and down her back.

Finally, Olly pulled away and for the first time, since they parted, they both got a decent look at each other. "O-oh god. Who did this to you?" Luke stroked her cheek lightly, causing her to wince, and a horrified expression appeared on his face.

Her eyes looked to the floor, unable to greet his as she spoke. "My dad."

His face quickly morphed in to one of complete shock and confusion. "W- wait... WHAT?"

She sighed. "I believe you've met him before. His name is Joel."

His hand quickly ran through his hair as it took the remainder of his strength to comprehend what she was saying. "I- I can't believe it. He's your... AND HE DID THAT TO YOU?!"

Olly quickly placed her finger to her lips. "Ssh, Luke! Troy might be looking for me and this it isn't what it seems." She gestured to her face.

Luke scoffed. "Looks pretty damn clear to me."

"Well, it isn't and I don't want to spend what little time we have together explainin' it." Olly pleaded, her eyes still glistening from her tears, helping her to resemble a puppy.

He sighed. "You're right." Luke promptly wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a comforting squeeze. "Why were you cryin'?"

Olly gulped, wanting to avoid enraging him once again and not wanting to think about that fucker, Troy. "I guess it was just relief that-"

He scowled. "I meant when I grabbed you. You were already cryin'."

She shook her head against his chest as he brought her closer to him. "It was nothing."

Luke paused, before sighing. "If you say so." He replied in defeat. He didn't believe her, that was obvious, but he must have guessed she didn't want to talk about it. "Ya know you're lucky, I almost didn't recognise you with out that hat on."

She smiled to herself. It faltered, however, at the thought of that night once again. She pushed away from him gently, fully taking in his tired eyes. "What happened to you?"

"Well, after getting in a bust up with Kenny tryin' to get that transformer workin', I took a quick walk to clear my head. That's when I heard the gunshots and went to figure out what the hell was happenin'... and then I saw Carver, Bonnie, Troy and... Joel. I didn't see any sense in getting caught too, I would have been no use to you that way. So, I held back. I knew where he'd take you and I took the quickest route I could back to try and help ya'll escape..." Luke's eyes were closing involuntarily as he spoke, he had to keep rubbing them to try and stay awake.

"You haven't slept, have you?"

"I- I couldn't. The threat of a lurker creepin' up at you at any moment does that to a guy."

It was Olly's turn to place a soothing hand on his cheek. "You look awful. You're tired. You need rest."

He shook his head defiantly. "I need to concentrate on getting you, and the others, out of here."

She smiled at him and held his hand in hers, stroking her thumb against his palm softly. "There you go again. Taking everyone's problems in to your own. You need to put yourself first for a change." His remembrance of her echoing words and his flirtatious response from back at the lodge caused a surge of desire to run through him. The close proximity of their bodies didn't help matters. He quickly hoisted her on top of the nearby counter, placing himself between her parted legs as he ran a hand through her hair. One breathy gasp from her was all it took for him to go over the edge. He kissed her furiously, his tongue quickly seeking entrance to the inside of her mouth, which she happily allowed. His hands guided themselves down to her waist, pulling herself right against him, allowing for no space between them. The kiss was so heated and passionate, that they had to stop for breath. Their eyes reached an understanding, as her hand pushed him back slightly.

"I- I should go." Olly panted reluctantly, very aware that nobody knew where she was at this point.

He nodded sadly. They both wished they could have taken that further, but it wasn't possible. He moved away from the counter allowing her space to jump down. His own heart was still racing and his breathing uneven. "I already spoke to Clementine earlier, s- she's gonna help us get out." Olly's puzzled look was his cue to explain. "I asked her to get me one of those walkie talkies Carver uses." Olly was about to retaliate, before Luke continued. "Look, I know it's risky. I know it is! But it's the only plan I got. If Clem gets me one of those walkies, I can keep an eye out for the patrols..."

"... And report them back to us." He nodded. "Okay, I get where you're comin' from. I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thank you."

She sighed. "I really should go. I don't need to get myself in any more trouble with these assholes." Olly walked over to the door, opening it very slightly. "Oh and Luke... Try and get some sleep, you seriously look like shit."

He chuckled slightly. "Well thanks a lot, Oliver." They shared another smile before Olly cautiously exited the store, looking both ways for Troy the bastard. When she didn't spot him, she made a beeline for the main warehouse. The fact it had grown dark had not escaped her attention.

She didn't get far before a disgustingly arrogant voice called her back. "Hey! Where the fuck did you get to?!" Olivia cringed at the shriek that emanated from Troy who was quickly gaining on her. The entrance to their 'prison' wasn't too far away. Maybe she could make a run for it? It was too late though. Troy had already grabbed her arm and pinned her against the wall. "So, you gonna tell me?!" Olly thought about calling for help, but she didn't want to seem weak. Instead she opted for trying to push him off her, but this only made him tighten his hold.

"I tried to get the fuck away from you! I'm pretty sure attempted rape isn't in your job description!" The famous 'death glare' wasn't having its usual affect as Troy just seemed to laugh it off. His arm was squeezing against her neck making it difficult for her to breath, let alone talk. His other arm was pushing against her stomach which she consciously tried to wriggle away from, obviously afraid he'd lower it.

"You're gonna play nice with me, darlin'. If you don't, this'll only get worse and Carver has already said when Joel isn't around... I can deal with you... any way I like." He finished the breathy sentence next to her ear and when he was greeted with a shiver of disgust, he allowed an evil smirk that genuinely frightened her. Her fears came to light when a hand began drifting downwards.

"Hey! What d'ya think you're doing, Troy?!" Olly breathed a staggered sigh of relief at the sound of her Dad coming up the path. "Carver left her to me! I'm the only one who deals with her!"

Troy scoffed. "Yeah, that was until she fuckin' kicked me in the balls!" Joel stormed over to him, his well muscled chest making Troy look like a puny ant. His towering form caused Troy to let go off Olly who quickly began coughing her guts up.

"Carver has already warned you about the women here Troy... I suggest you be careful from now on. Otherwise, you're going to have a lot more to deal with than some sore genitals." Instantaneously, Troy went from 'hard man' to tiny mouse at the threat. A tiny mouse that quickly scampered off, leaving behind a wheezing red head and a furious looking father. "What d'ya think you're playing at?!" Joel had now squared up to his daughter who was still trying to catch her breath.

"M-me? Are you s-serious?"

"Where the fuck where you?! Carver is furious!"

Olly contemplated telling him. Maybe she could trust him? But then memories of how he had betrayed Carlos and the others flooded her mind. She didn't want to put herself or her dad in that position. "I was just trying to get away from that fuckin' creep."

Joel sighed, allowing him to calm slightly. "You should have come to me. Troy's a piece of work but he wouldn't have touched you if were with me."

Olly shrugged and tried to act indifferent. "How do I know YOU wouldn't have hurt me again?" The question was a façade but there was truth behind it. How could she trust him?

The question had been unexpected and it was apparent it had angered him. His jaw was tightly clenched and his eyebrows bore a fixed scowl. "You need to get moving. Let's go." Joel shoved her in front of him ever so slightly and instantly caused Olivia to feel guilty.

"I am grateful... I don't know what he would have done if you hadn't come." He didn't reply and the silence was deafening. It didn't take long for them to reach the entrance that Olly had been trying to reach before it was promptly opened and immediately everyone's eyes turned on hers. In the centre lay a fire surrounded by most of the group. The only people who weren't around it were the strange woman who hadn't spoke a word, Reggie, Carlos, Alvin and... Clementine?

The shutter door was quickly closed behind her with a giant clatter, causing her to look back at the disappearing form of her Dad.

"Olivia! Are you okay?" She nodded at Nick who was offering her a seat beside him. "Guess what?! Luke's here!" Nick gushed over the news excitedly whilst everyone else seemed to be trying to shush him.

Olly sat on the seat prompted and nodded her head. "I know. I've already seen him."

Worried eyes glazed over her, obviously concerned that she wasn't more excited by the news. "Are you sure you're okay?" Rebecca, the first to voice their suspicions.

"I... had a run in with Troy the bastard. I'll be oka-"

"Is that what that was about?" Kenny questioned and he received a slightly irritated nod in response.

"Don't worry about me. We need to worry about Luke. He says he has a plan... and where is Clementine?!" Olivia, obviously feeling uncomfortable being the centre topic, changed it with obvious concern for the missing girl.

"Yeah, he ran us through with it and... Rebecca says she's with Carver." Mike spoke carefully from across the circle, evidently afraid of setting her off.

"And we're cool with that?!" Olly's eyes promptly glazed over each person, panic setting in.

"Of course we ain't 'cool with it'. There isn't anything we can do about it until we've figured a way outta here." Kenny's booming voice reflected worry as much as her own which allowed her to relax ever so slightly. "Luckily, I have a plan. All we need to do is make a lotta noise, attract that oncoming herd and let them tear up the place!" Looks of disbelief crossed everyone's faces which only seemed to annoy the man more. "We all know what happened this morning! I don't know what that sonuvabitch is gonna do next!"

With that, the shutter door shrieked open once more, the figure of a small girl coming in behind it. Olly smiled with appeasement, but seemed to be the only one even paying attention.

"So you wanna ring the dinner bell for a herd of walkers to show up? How is that better?" Mike quizzed, unbelieving.

Exasperated, Kenny replied. "'Cause this place'll be fuckin' chaos when that thing hits. No one'll be payin' any attention to us. And that's when we go. That's our opening. We just gotta figure out a way to draw 'em to us." Whilst Kenny had been ranting, Clem had placed herself in a seat beside Mike and offered a smile to Olly before staring over at the woman who seemed more antisocial than Olivia had ever been. She must have been through a lot... or maybe she really did just hate everyone.

"Your friend here wants to get us killed by lurkers before Bill can do it." Rebecca turned to Clementine, a sarcastic tone present in her voice.

Of course Kenny didn't like that. "What is it with you?" Olly often thought the same.

"That's what it sounds like to me."

"Maybe Luke could help us... he's outside." The red head turned to the little girl, remembering what Luke had asked her to do. "He wants a radio to help keep an eye on the guards."

Rebecca mustered a smile. "Thank you! That's the plan I vote for."

Clem's surprised voice cut in. "You know about Luke?"

Mike was the first to respond. "He flagged us down when Troy had gone lookin' for Olly." _Uh oh. Hopefully he didn't know about... _"Told us his plan... mentioned he'd talked to you both"

"If Luke can tell us what's going on with the guards, we can use that to pick a good time to escape." Rebecca outstretched her hand as if to emphasise it was a good plan.

"Who knows when that'll be. There was a girl back at Crawford that used church bells to send walkers all over the city. We just need something really loud." _Because it's that simple Kenny..._

"The P.A system Carver is always using is quite loud." Sarita weakly suggested from her hunched position beside her lover.

"There's some speakers outside the building... pointed towards the parking lot. I saw 'em when we were walking out to the work. Troy's always standing next to them." Just Mike mentioning that man's name made Olivia visibly shudder.

"I saw the controls. They're in Carver's office." Clem pointed out which Rebecca quickly agreed with.

"She's right. It's all controlled in Bill's office. There's a switch in there that'll turn them on."

"This is stupid. Luke said-"

"No, girl! This is perfect! We just gotta get into his office."

"Still with the name thing Kenny..."

He ignored her and turned to Rebecca. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"'Cause Olly's right. It doesn't change anything. This isn't a discussion about how to do it, it's a discussion about whether it's stupid. And it's still stupid. The sensible thing is to get Luke the radio and wait for an opening." Rebecca pleaded as best as she could, but Kenny was stubborn.

"You're real difficult to deal with sometimes."

"Rebecca is right, Kenny! We need time to figure a way outta here with out reacting harshly. I've seen Luke... you've seen Luke! He's in no shape! He needs sleep! This is not time for rash action."

"Oh, I'm sorry... here I was thinking that you might want to get outta here. Was daddy's beating not enough?"

The shocked expressions of the group met the man, Olivia's most of all. It didn't stay there long before it promptly changed to one of pure hatred. "You best watch yourself Kenneth-"

He scoffed. "Or what..."

Sarita's hand reached over to Kenny's arm in an attempt to sooth him. "Kenny..."

Olivia smirked darkly. "No, I want to know what he's got to say about my Dad."

"How about... HE'S AN ASSHOLE?! What ever happened to 'I'm going to kill him' and 'Of course I want to leave."

Olly rose from her seat. "My dad is not the problem here! Okay?! What he did to me is between me and him! NOBODY ELSE."

"What if he hurts Clementine next, huh?! What are ya gonna do?!"

"He won't!-"

"Stop. We can do both." All eyes turned to Clementine who was desperately trying to get the discussion back on track. "Even if we bring the herd to us it's probably good for Luke to be able to tell us where they're coming from."

"That's a plan I can get behind." Already Kenny seemed to have forgotten the little pissing match, but Olly was still fuming. It had occurred to her that they had no idea of the truth, but it was not anybody's business to be bringing up her own scars. "Okay so we get that turd a radio-"

"Don't even call him-" Olly's attempt at interrupting fell on deaf ears.

"-he keeps us posted on the herd's movements. We fire up the PA thing and bring the walkers to roll over this place."

Managing to cool down enough, Olly sat back down but never once stopped glaring at Kenny. "Then what, Kenny? We gonna punch our way out?"

"We get some guns and shoot our way out! I don't know! Whatever we can! We improvise."

Olly laughed aggressively. "This is brilliant. Fuckin' flawless. I could make a fuckin' book out of all these flawless plans by Kenneth."

"Listen cheesecake, I don't see you steppin' up to make these plans."

Rebecca interrupted calmly. "I figured out what your problem is... you don't think things through. If the end of the plan is to just stroll through a herd of walkers, then you should know from the jump that there's no way it's ever going to work."

"Actually... I do it all the time." Everyone turned around to see the woman, who had previously not said a word, leering over everyone.

"First words I ever hear you say, and it's just some crazy, stupid shit." Mike spoke questioningly.

"Hush. What do you mean exactly?" Sarita hunched forward, awaiting a response.

"When you cover yourself in their smell, rub the walker guts all over you... they can't tell you from one of them. Trust me, I've walked through herds before. It works. You just have to keep calm and make sure you're good and covered."

"Lee figured it out."

Kenny's eyes quickly darted over to Clementine's, who seemed to be lost in thought. "What?"

"It's how we got out of the Marsh House. Lee covered me in and we walked right through." Clem's sad eyes trailed to the floor at the memory and Olly quickly gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. This can't be easy for her.

"Really? Huh. Holy shit. Good one, Lee. All right, what are we waitin' for? Let's get that stupid radio!"

"Hey! What about Luke? He still needs rest! We don't even know how to get in the stockroom!" Olly stood defiant, just as Kenny did now.

"I got a plan for that, too. Com'on kid. Gonna need your help."

Olly turned around to the young woman, shocked. "What?" Clem looked at the red head sorrowfully, before following after the woman.

"Where the hell she'd come from?" Kenny whispered to Rebecca and Mike before slightly turning to Olivia. "More useful that some anyway."

She scowled at him. "Bite me."

At the sound of the woman's voice, everyone moved to join her by the fences. "We just need to use the winch... she can just climb up from there. Then just drop into one of the skylights over the stockroom. There are shelves and stuff for you to land on, so... you probably won't fall to your death."

"Great." Clem mumbled to herself, not feeling any comfort by the woman's speech.

"That thing breaks all the time. Unless something's changed, it won't support much weight." Rebecca scowled, her arms crossed tightly.

"Is this really the best plan we got?! I mean, I know Luke asked her to be the one to get the damn thing but..."

"She's the only one who can do it." The woman reasoned and unfortunately, Olly knew she was right.

"Up and at 'em, Clem."

"Don't push her, Kenny."

Clementine sighed. "It's okay. I can do it."

Kenny smiled at her thankfully. "That's my girl. We gotta get that rope down. Mike, you wanna boost her up?" Mike moved in to position and suddenly Clem was being hoisted on to his shoulders.

"Hey Clem!" The little girl paused to look in response to Olly's call. "Be careful.."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "You tell me that every time. I know."

Olly laughed lightly. "Cheeky. I want none of that lip." She winked at her before allowing Mike to move the girl closer to the rope. It didn't take much for Clem to reach up and tug the rope down. Once the winch was freed, Clem began her ascent up with Mike pulling it down. Clementine had almost made it before the sound of the gates being unlocked echoed through out. "Shit, he's coming back. I gotta let you go! I can't stand here! Grab something!"

Olly's disbelief turned in to panic as Clem quickly searched for something. Everyone had already scarpered in the hopes of looking natural. The sound of clattering metal sounded as Clem hit the ladder, that being the only thing she could grab on to. Mike quickly ran off, leaving Olly alone.

"Get over here!" Mike called behind him, a sense of frenzy emanating from him. She obeyed quietly, believing Clem wouldn't fall.

The gates fully opened, revealing Carver and Troy. Troy acting as his designated bodyguard, assault rifle in hand. His gaze quickly landed on Olly, a smirk plastered on his face, knowing it would affect her.

"You all have five minutes to get into bed! Another hard days work will follow tomorrow and you all need to be up and out of bed early. And this time... I'm going to be keep an extra special eye for any disappearing acts." Carver's attention turned on the red head as he spoke the last line as menacingly as he could manage. Olivia responded in kind. "Now get to bed. Troy will be checking up on you after those five minutes are up." With that, he turned and left the compound, Troy close on his heels, allowing Olly to let out a breath she didn't even realise she was holding.

"Well let's hope Clem makes it back in time."

"Way to point out the obvious, Kenny." Olly replied sarcastically, causing him to scowl in return.

"I'll wait beside the wall for her to come back." Mike offered and Olly nodded.

"I'd do it myself but I don't really trust myself to catch her with the beating I ended up with yesterday."

He nodded. "It's okay, I got it." With that, Mike moved in his designated position whilst everyone else clambered on to their 'beds'.

"Hey Olly."

"What is it Nick?" She tried not to sound frustrated, but it was difficult with Nick sometimes and she was so tired.

"How was Luke? You got to see him. He okay?"

Olivia physically smiled at the mention of him. To her, Luke was her personal beacon of hope and the only lot she had left... but he had been in a rough state. "He... didn't look great. This is what I meant about sticking around just a little longer. Luke is in no shape for this shit."

"Yeah... we shouldn't do anything if he isn't ready. But if Clem gets that radio and Luke gets the plan underway, we'll have enough time to rest when we're out."

"Will we? What if shitface Carver comes after us again? Luke might never get a proper opportune moment to sleep and if he doesn't sleep... he'll get sloppy and-"

"-You really care about him, don't you?" Nick's question didn't sound much like a question, so Olly just sighed in response.

A few seconds later, a cough sounded from the ladder and Olivia shot right up. She could see Clem being put on the ground by Mike and relief washed over her. "Best get in bed. Troy'll be back any minute." Clem nodded to him before doing as she was bid.

"You okay, Clem?" Olivia asked quickly, receiving a smile in response.

"I told you I would be." The girl's confident grin let Olly know she had the walkie talkies. Kenny soon joined in on the congratulations, a shinier glimmer of hope coming through.

Maybe for now, for just one night, she could rest easy? No nightmares? She knew where Luke was and Clementine was safe. Was that enough?

* * *

**Okay, first of all, I apologize for this being so delayed and it not being all that great. I've been immensely tired recently and then I figured I might as well wait for the last episode to release so I can plan how this story is going to go... Honestly I think it made it worse. I don't see how a happy ending can be made from the end of this game with out making it dishonest. **

**If you haven't seen or played the last episode yet, I won't spoil it for you, but it killed me! I seriously cried over 5 times and one moment in particular made me cry for 10 minutes straight. If you've seen the episode, you might be able to guess what part I'm talking about. I get very emotionally invested in games and this game had a serious impact on me. I literally spent the rest of the day yesterday curled up in a ball. Some stuff that happened I really didn't see coming and I take my imaginary hat off to Telltale's for giving me this experience. I have a few ideas for how this story is going to go, but none for how it will end yet. Also, I'm going on holiday over the weekend and some of next week and I'll have no internet. I might still write a little whilt on holiday but I can't guarantee it. **

**If you guys have seen the episode, I hope you're all coping. If you haven't, good luck for when you do. **


	16. Chapter 16 - Oh no

TWD Chapter 16 – Oh no

* * *

"Hey! Get up!" The rough voice of Kenny sounded in Olly's ear whilst shaking her violently awake, definitely making yesterdays awakening feel like a road trip. This immediately set her in a bad mood.

"Shove off." Olivia groaned, attempting to pull herself away from the man. After a few seconds of struggle, Kenny let go and stared the stubborn girl down with his hands on his hips.

"I don't have time for this bullshit. I guess we'll figure out who's going to give Luke the radio with out ya." Kenny said, a slight amused tone to his voice as he walked away. His amusement came from the fact that Olivia had shot up from her laying down position at the sound of Luke's name. When Kenny began quietly laughing to himself, this just made her mood worse.

Clambering from the top bunk, she realised that everyone else was already gathered in a circle around some old table that looked as if it would break in half if the slightest bit of weight was placed upon it. She patted down her hair in an attempt to make any sense of it, as it no doubt looked like a pigsty, as she walked over to the group who mostly welcomed her awake with fake smiles.

"Now that we're done waitin' for Ms. Infatuated to get her ass up-"

Olly glowered at him. "Ha. Ha. Ha... Asshole."

"There ain't no time for that. Someone's gotta take that radio to Luke." Rebecca interrupted the duo, who obviously carried a lot of disdain for one another.

"You're right, but we should probably figure out who's doin' what before we—" The sound of the gates opening interrupted the debate, allowing Kenny enough warning to grab the radio and attempt to subtlety hide it behind his back. Olivia just scoffed at him. The man didn't know the meaning of subtlety.

The doors opened to reveal Tavia armed with an assault rifle. "Time to get up. Daylight's burnin'. They let you sleep in, all things considered." _My eyes and the crook in my neck disagree with that crap._

Sarah's sad voice cut in for the first time in a long time, and just then it came to Olly's attention that she should really pay more attention to that girl. "Where's my dad?"_ She must be scared out of her mind being away from __Carlos for so long._

"He's where the rest of you are goin'. To work." Tavia replied with obvious aversion. "Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, Jane... if you've gotta take a piss, do it now. The next break won't be for a while. Troy'll be comin' up for the rest of you."

Olly's heart sank. "What? Why just them?! Why can't I come with you?"

Tavia seemed to give a knowing smirk, it didn't scream friendly. "Like I said, Troy's comin' for the rest of you. That's how it goes." The named group promptly left, Tavia with them, and the gates were shut once again. The only people remaining being Clementine, Mike, Kenny and Olivia.

Kenny quickly turned to the rest of the group. "All right, look. If we're gonna to do somethin', we have to do it NOW, and if Luke's all we got, then we pair up with him."

"Finally, he admits it!" Olly spoke, exasperated.

An evident scowl was her only response from the older man, who seemed to be purposely holding his tongue, which admittedly gave her some satisfaction. After a pause of contemplation... he smirked. "Clementine should do it."

Olivia's face quickly dropped. "What?! No! I should do it!"

"Do you guys hear that? I swear I can hear an annoying buzz in my ear." Kenny's smirk grew at the now red faced woman who was trying with all her might to keep herself together.

"It's okay, Olly can do it if she likes."

"No, she can't. She already got in enough trouble yesterday when she went off to rub up against loverboy." Olly's face went an even brighter shade of crimson, more reflecting embarrassment than anger now, knowing that Kenny's insinuation was more accurate than implied.

"I didn't go lookin' for Luke you jackass-"

The gate clattering open rudely interrupted the argument and revealed Olly's most hated sight. Troy the bastard, whose eyes lingered on Olivia a little more than they should have, making even Kenny concerned. "All right little chickens, let's get to peckin'. And don't think today's goin' to be like yesterday. No way. No shenanigans... from anyone!" He glanced back and forth to Clementine and Olivia, giving her the realisation that Kenny's point about her 'getting in to trouble' was full of shit, because Clem had been in trouble too. "This rooster's gonna be surveilling your asses every second of the day, you hear?" _It wouldn't surprise me if you did literally mean 'surveilling' our asses, creep. _Suddenly_._ his voice changed tones, when he gazed at the red head, to a more menacing deepness. "It's your lucky day, darlin'. Joel has you all day, but I wouldn't worry about that... he won't be there all the time to save you." The toothy grin he finished his sentence with had the effect he had hoped for. "So, move it!" Olly glanced over to Kenny, who definitely seemed more apologetic to her now, before moving to escape the compound. She was just about to pass Troy before he stepped in to her path. "I'm lookin' forward to our next meetin'... things might get steamier... I have it all planned, don't worry." Nobody but Olly had heard what he had said since he had spoke in the slightest whisper, but it was enough to send her running.

* * *

It took less than twenty seconds for her to reach the door of the garage and less than a second for her to start banging on it. It had been impossible to prevent the tears from escaping her eyes and her body was shaking violently, terror destroying her usually tough nature. She felt ashamed that someone could make her that scared.

It didn't take long for the door to be swung open and for her to fall in to her father's arms, he then quickly shut the door behind them at the sight of his daughter, who was now clutching his overalls in an attempt to keep herself upright. "What's the matter?" He ran a soothing hand over her head, his voice portraying a genuine concern that Olivia hadn't heard from her Dad since... forever.

"I'm s-scared." She managed to blubber out in to his chest.

"Let's go sit down and you can talk to me about it..." He had already guessed who this was about and the sitting down part was as much for him than her. He guided her to a couple of pretty worn out looking wooden chairs that he had just finished mending. Once he had placed her in one, he sat on the one opposite, a hand rubbing her knee comfortingly. "What did he do?"

Olly's eyes remained staring at the floor, tears trickling down her cheeks and her breathing uneven as if she she was experiencing a panic attack. "He threatened to..." She shook her head, ashamed.

Joel had heard enough and knew how that sentence would have finished. He got up from his seat and strolled over to his work counter. When he returned, he was holding out a box of tissues to Olly, who took them gratefully. "I'll deal with it." Joel spoke the words with such malice and strength that she genuinely believed them and slowly allowed herself to calm.

"I'm sorry for... crying." Olivia got up from her seat and quickly turned her back on her father, masking the few remaining tears sliding from her eyes.

"No need to apologize." Those words she didn't believe.

It was silent for some time whilst Joel continued his work and Olivia collected her bearings. She appreciated the fact he allowed her this time because she really needed it. But perhaps the moment was for him too? It had been a long time since he had anyone to care for, but all of a sudden, he was thrust back in to his daughter's life and he wanted to keep her safe and love her... the best he could anyway. He was no longer capable of all the mushy shit, but he would do what he could to keep her alive.

"Want me to help? or... do something?" Olly asked gently, popping her father out of his little bubble.

"Er... Not yet. You just take a minute." He then quickly returned to screwing in whatever it was Olly was looking at. It looked like some other machinery... perhaps it malfunctioned?

"I've taken several." she huffed, which he didn't satisfy with a response. Olly's thoughts soon turned to their escape plan and if Clementine had managed to get the walkie talkie to Luke. She hated the thought of Clem putting herself in harm's way once again just to satisfy Kenny, but she also kind of hoped to have been able to see Luke herself. And what about Joel? Would he come with her? The thought of having to leave him behind made her sigh.

"What you thinking about?" He never once stopped working and the tone in which he spoke made him sound disinterested in the answer, but she knew he wouldn't have asked if he didn't want to know.

"Can I trust you?"

The out of the blue, serious question caused Joel to stop exactly what he was doing and turn to look at his daughter. "Still scared I'm gonna hurt you if you do something stupid again?"

She glared at him slightly. "Define 'stupid'."

He groaned to himself. "Stupid like trying to escape. I assume that's where you're going with this?" He crossed his arms tightly and impatiently tapped his foot.

"Would you come with us?" Olly asked, her anxiety threatening to overload.

Joel scoffed. "What if I said no? What then?" Olly thought about this long and hard for the time he allowed before he grew impatient. "Well?"

"I'd still go. Without you." His mouth fell slightly open at the revelation and a tiny bit of sadness filled his eyes. Then he blinked and it had vanished, returning to work. "I want you to come with me. It's gonna happen soon! You'll know when it does and if you stay... you'll be in danger—"

He frowned. "What do you mean it's going to happen soon? Have you-?"

All of a sudden, the garage doors were being yanked open and in strolled Carver, a ferocious expression on his face. "Bring her to the compound, Joel! I'm calling them in... No doubt she's part of the recent events I've just uncovered." _Oh no._

"I'll bring her right away." With that said, Carver stormed off. "What did you do?!"

Olly shook her head in disbelief. "I didn't do anything, I've been here! But... I know someone who might've. Look, there's no time for this. Take me to the compound already!" Joel sighed before tugging on her arm to pull her forward and out the garage before turning to shut it.

The compound (the prison) wasn't far and the trip was especially shorter due to their fast stepping. The first thing Olivia noticed about the compound was the bruised and blooded body of Luke, kneeling on the floor. "Luke!" She attempted to sprint for him, but Joel immediately grabbed on to her waist and dragged her back. "Let go of me!" He didn't.

"Ah, here she is. Now we just have to wait for the others to get here." The only one there aside from Luke and Carver was Carlos, who was crouched beside Luke, and Olly was definitely relieved to see him.

"Luke, are you okay?!" It took some effort, but he managed to lift his head and nod ever so slightly. He wasn't fine and Olivia was beyond pissed. "You fucker! I'm goin' to fuckin' end you!" With every word spoken, she struggled against her father in an attempt to break free, but he was far too strong.

Carver just sighed as if this was a complete chore for him. "Joel."

With that said, Joel turned his daughter around and looked her in the eyes and nodded. She knew he would do it, he'd hurt her again. And he did... but she had been ready this time. He gave her enough time to move her head, not really making that much impact but giving the illusion it did.

"L-leave h-her alone." Luke managed to cough out from his position on the floor, but Carver's response was to hit him in the stomach again. Olly whimpered at the sight, but held it together. She knew her father would only have to hit her again.

"We gave you everything. A new community to be a part of, food, water, a place to sleep-" Carver began.

The sound of feet became audible behind them, but the bullshitter had obviously already spotted them, and in came the others, all looking rather sheepish. Clementine especially who was sporting another bruise. That was all the strength she needed to get out of her father's grip and sprint up to the little girl, who was closer to Troy than what she felt comfortable with. She pulled the girl away from him and back towards her father who dipped her head to her discreetly.

"-and how is it that we're repaid for our trust? With treachery...? With deceit...? With theft!" Carver held up one of the stolen walkies in demonstration. "Whatever you were planning is over... it's done. You can't just run from your problems. You can't just up and leave when it gets tough... cause there's nowhere else you can go where it ain't. Tough is all we got, now. Get that through you're fuckin' skulls." Carver had gradually been passing by each person as he spouted his crap and when he reached Olly, she had to gather all her strength not to spit in his vile face.

There was a pause in his bullshit as he made his way back towards where Luke had been left, but then he continued. "Luke here, he can't help you now... you gotta help yourselves... you gotta help me find the strength to forgive you." _Unlikely. _"Now you can start... by telling me where the other one is." He gestured to the stolen walkie in his hands and Olly realised that the other one hadn't been found... Clem never had to opportunity to give Luke it. She still had it! "I'm gonna count to three. If that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult."A pause. "One." Another pause. "Two."

Olly risked a glance to the little girl who was just pulling her hand out of her pocket before the walkie was snatched out of her hand. "It's right here. I got it." Never before had Olly held Kenny in such high regard, she didn't even think it was possible.

Carver held out his hand, his eyebrows knotted together in a fixed frown and Kenny slowly made his way over to him. Sarita attempted to block his path but he just whispered "it'll be alright." and carried on his way. "Sorry about that... not sure what I was thinking." Then the radio was dropped in the man's hand.

"Three." Kenny's face morphed in to one of slight confusion, before he realised what was about to happen. "...heh. Fucker." All of a sudden, Carver was using the walkie talkie as a means to smash in Kenny's skull, not even flinching as the man he beat fell to the floor, begging for him to stop.

Sarita cried out in terror and ran to try and help, but Carlos held her back. Instinctively, Joel shifted himself in front of his daughter who attempted to bring Clementine with her. However, the little girl had other ideas. Before Olivia could do anything, she had scampered off to help her friend Kenny, not getting very far before Troy's gun threw her to the floor. "You asshole!" Again Olly's Dad had to stop her from hurting someone even though it was obvious he'd happily let her mess him up if there wouldn't be repercussions to them both.

All of a sudden, in came Bonnie. "Bill! That's enough, Bill! There's a breach!"

Carver took a second to look at the woman before giving Kenny one last horrific punch. "All right, everyone come with me. Bonnie, you stick around. Make sure these folks don't get into anymore trouble." They all started to vacate and just before Carver fully left, he turned and addressed the pained group. "No supper for y'all tonight. Maybe an empty stomach'll give you some perspective... then we'll try this again tomorrow."

Then he was gone, they all were. Joel too. Bonnie was the only one left. As she crouched down to Clementine, Olly quickly joined her, nervous she'd try something. She had no reason to worry.

"Do your best with him Carlos. You need to get him able to move, 'cause we're leavin'. Tonight."

* * *

**I know this chapter is a lot shorter than recent chapters but I thought it was a decent place to end it and the next one will probably be a really long one. Thanks for all your reviews and it's been a pleasure to read them. Try not to worry too much about the ending and let's enjoy the journey :)**


	17. Chapter 17 - The Escape Plan

**Prepare for some pretty disgusting stuff later on as we wrap up episode 3.**

TWD Chapter 17 – The Escape Plan

* * *

"Is she okay?" Olivia asked Bonnie, panicking that Clementine seemed to be unconscious. The older woman had already picked the little girl up and placed her on one of the beds.

"I-I don't know. Carlos?"

The doctor who was currently focusing his attention on Kenny, nodded. "Let her rest." That's all he said before returning mute as he prioritised the man bleeding profusely. It had taken a lot of effort for Rebecca to pry Sarita away from the man and allow Carlos enough room to do his job. Nick was currently hunched over in a chair, not saying too much, probably trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened. Sarah was wandering from person to person, trying to find some comfort whilst her Dad worked... and Luke was propped against a wall, looking very defeated.

Olly made her way over to him, restraining herself to stop herself from sprinting. Luke saw her coming and removed himself from the wall. Once she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, tighter than what she should have, causing him to wince. "Ouch. Ouch." She didn't let go, but just loosened her grip slightly and Luke folded his arms around her in return.

"Sorry." He nodded against her and allowed the hug to carry on, giving her the opportunity to dip her face in the crook of his neck and he responded in kind. "I was so afraid." Her words were muffled due to her remaining as close to him as she could manage. Before she knew it, tears were rolling down her cheeks again and she tutted, annoyed that it was happening once more.

"We have a lot to talk about." And with that, Luke pryed her away from him and pulled her as far away from everyone else as he could manage. Olly was too worked up to realise how strange this was and honestly, she wanted to be alone with him, at least for a little while. "I think I'm due an explanation about-"

Now Olivia was done crying, she actually took in Luke's appearance fully and he didn't look great. "-You genuinely look terrible."

He sighed. "I haven't eaten in... I don't even know how long. Haven't really slept neither."

Olly nodded. "Let me handle it." She was about to make her way towards Bonnie, but Luke pulled her back.

"What are you doin'? We need to talk."

Olivia contemplated continuing, but Luke's adamant gaze told her to do otherwise. "Fine. Talk. What's bothering you?"

He scoffed. "A lot of things are botherin' me right now. Hell, I've lost count. But if you want specifics... Joel." Now she understood. "You said back at that store that those-" he gestured to the cuts and bruises on her face. "-weren't what they seemed. He hit you again-"

"-No he didn't! ...Not really. I moved so it didn't hurt so much. He pre-warned me he was going to do it and I moved." Luke didn't seem to be getting it. "Look, he's not Carver and he's no way near like him. I was being stupid back at the lodge, impulsive. If my Dad hadn't been there, I'd be dead!"

He shook his head lightly, his eyes tightly shut... a few seconds later, he opened them and nodded. "I think I understand. He still messed it all up for the rest of us last time. Do you know about that?"

"Yes... Carlos told me. So did he. Look, I won't tell you what he said because it's not my place, but can you at least trust me enough to believe me when I say he won't do that again?"

"Did you tell him about this plan?!" Luke's eyes widened in shock.

"No! Not exactly... It doesn't even matter... he wouldn't come with us anyway." The raw heartache echoing from her eyes as she spoke showed Luke the truth, instantly making him feel bad for her. "Now are we done? I need to speak to Bonnie before-"

"-No. There's something else." He seemed reluctant to continue, which made the situation more intriguing for her, but not in a good way. "After you left yesterday, I heard... Troy was talkin' to someone about you and he said..." He paused, turning away and clenching his eyes shut. Olivia knew exactly what he was trying to say. The man had been bragging about it. It took a lot of effort, but Luke gathered the strength to look back at her. "Has he hurt you?" His hand reached up to stroke her cheek, her face now reflecting fear at the thought of her previous encounters with the vile man.

"If you are trying to ask if he... touched me, no he didn't... thanks to my Dad. Not that he didn't try."

He gulped heavily, before a dominant scowl demonstrated his anger at the discovery, his hands clenched in to tight fists. "That bastard."

She nodded. "It's okay. My Dad said he'd deal with it. Nobody else knows so let's just keep it shtum. It's not something I want to keep repeating."

He sighed. "If you say so. If he tries anythin' again, though..."

"Pff. He won't have time to by the sound of things." There was a comfortable silence between the pair, Olly taking the time to fully take in his worn out features and his new bruises and looking at him now, she was worried. "You should let Carlos take a look at you once he's done with Kenny."

"I'll be okay... but I'm starting to think maybe we shouldn't leave right away. Kenny's in no shape to go anywhere, neither is Sarita and Clementine hasn't even woken up yet."

Olivia nodded. "I agree. You need rest too... and food." With that, Olly jogged off towards Bonnie who was just about to leave the compound. "Bonnie!"

The woman turned around, a confused expression greeting her ragged features. "Yeah?"

"I need you to get my Dad for me. Just bring him here to the compound."

"What? Why?" Bonnie's scowl told Olly that even she didn't trust Joel.

"Just get him... please."

She paused, her eyes drifting away slightly before looking back. "Alright." Then she left and Olly patiently waited for him to arrive by the gate.

Luke soon came by her side giving her an inquisitive look. "What are you doing?"

She smiled. "Looking after you."

He crossed his arms and stared her down. "What does that even mean?"

Olivia just shook her head and then dipped it towards Nick. "You should go talk to him. I know he was worried about you."

Luke looked at his best friend and then back to the young red head who had made such a huge impact on his life. "I missed you, ya know. It was odd not having y'all around-" he paused. "... not having you around." Olivia couldn't help but release another smile at the revelation and the awkwardness of how it sounded.

Then she leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips, straight away him checking to see if anyone had noticed. If they had, they didn't make it known. "I missed you, too." He smiled and then left to go talk to Nick as suggested, who seemed more than happy to speak to his friend.

A few seconds later, two knocks were sounded at the gate and Olly turned to see her father looking through the holes. He didn't seem happy. "Olly, you can't be askin' me to come here. The gates are always watched."

"But I need your help-"

Joel sighed. "I can't help you... What am I supposed to do? Bust you out?"

She shook her head. "No, no. Nothing like that. I need you to get me some food. That's all."

He chuckled darkly. "'That's all' she says. You can't go one day with out food?"

Exasperated, she continued. "It's not for me. It's... for Luke." The look of disdain she received told her she'd need to do some serious convincing... and the look he gave Luke from over her shoulder was one that said 'I don't like that guy'.

"Why would I do anythin' for him?"

"You're not doing it for him, you're doing it for me." Olivia attempted her best 'puppy dog' face, but it was evidently out of practice.

"No."

"Dad, please! He can't go another day with out food! I'm afraid of what'll happen otherwise."

He spent a minute investigating every emotion in her face and finally came to a conclusion. "You love him."

Her mouth fell open... then closed... then open again. "I-uh..."

"I'll try." Then he was gone and Olly was left, mouth gaping open. She turned around to see Luke staring at her, obviously awaiting a response to whatever she had been doing. Nobody else was really paying attention. Sarita was still crying with Rebecca attempting to comfort her, Carlos was still busy trying to save Kenny, Clementine still sleeping, Jane was still being anti-social and Mike was just wandering around trying to get his head straight.

It wasn't long before the gates were clattering open and in came Joel. "Come with me." Now everyone's questioning eyes had turned on the father/daughter duo as they left the compound and the gates were locked behind them.

"Where are we going?"

"The garage."

"Why there?" He didn't reply.

Once their destination had been reached, he yanked it open and let Olly go inside first. Then he was off in to some side room that lead from the main area. "You never answered me. Why here?" No response. In fact the only sound she could hear was the sound of rummaging and moving objects. About two minutes later, the aging man appeared from the room with what looked like a packet of crackers.

"About the only thing left eatable in here. I've had this secret stash of stuff for a while... just in case." He held out the packet to her and Olivia took them gratefully before pulling her father in to a loving hug.

"Thank you! Maybe people will start trusting you-"

"No! Tell nobody they came from me. Say you found them... I want nothing more to do with this." With that, Joel plonked himself in a chair and placed his head in his hands.

"Aren't you going to take me back?"

"No... not yet. The only reason I could get you here was because I told Bill I needed your help with some extra work, that I wouldn't be able to get done with out you. Apparently he believes that the maintenance I've got done these past couple of days, you actually helped with."

"Oh. How long we gonna be here for?"

He laughed humourlessly to himself. "Don't worry. You'll be back with loverboy shortly."

She rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone call him that? He has a name..." Joel just gave a criticizing grunt. "You disapprove?"

"I'll admit I'm struggling to see what you do in him."

She scowled at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that boy has no backbone, no willpower, no strength and he puts his morals before anything else. He won't be able to keep you safe."

It was Olly's turn to laugh humourlessly now. "What? And you could?! You put yourself before anyone! At least Luke would try and save me if I was in danger! You wouldn't! You'd just piss off in the opposite direction and save yourself."

Joel was no longer seated. In fact, he was hovering over his daughter, a furious expression on his face, his hands flailing in the air. "Oh, would I?! Then why the fuck am I here right now? Huh? I'm here to satisfy your stupid crush, that's what!"

"It's not a stupid crush! And I need this food because Luke is in a shitty state and I want to help him. Something you no nothing about! You'd much rather just follow orders. You know what your problem is? You have no morals and you're jealous that Luke is actually capable of caring about me!"

Joel was shocked in to silence and Olivia immediately regretted what she had said. "Leave."

"But I-"

"You can make your own way back. If you get caught, that's your problem." Then his back was turned. The room suddenly felt very cold and unwelcoming. She thought about apologizing... but her stubborness demanded she didn't. Knowing if she got caught outside the compound with out her father she would be punished, Olly ran as fast as she could, the crackers disguised inside her top as best as it would enable.

Luckily for her, Bonnie was on guard duty. "Pst. Bonnie." Olivia had hidden in the shadows as she quietly tried to grab the woman's attention and luckily, she had managed it.

"What are you doing?"

"Just let me in, please." She nodded, unlocking the gates and allowing her through.

"Tell Luke I need to speak with him as soon as it turns dark." Bonnie commanded and Olly assumed it was about the escape plan, so she nodded.

"You're back." The man in question was the first to notice her return. "Where'd you go?"

"Uh... Could we go talk in some corner or something?..." Everyone gave her questioning, shocked stares and that's when it struck her how bad that sounded. "No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that. I just need to speak to you... about something... erm." The sentence finished with an awkward neck scratch, her cheeks painted red with embarrassment.

Luke managed a chuckle at the demonstration. "Sure." Then he rose from his seat beside Nick who wiggled his eyebrows at his friend and gave him a thumbs up, which Luke responded with a roll of his eyes. "What is it, Olly?"

"I have something for you." Checking to see that nobody was looking, she held out the crackers. "I know it's not much..."

His eyes widened at the sight of food and his mouth started watering. "I... How did you...? That's where you went with Joel, isn't it?" She nodded, her eyes betraying her as they glazed with sadness. "Thank you, truly. I didn't realize Joel had it in him... maybe he does care about us afterall."

Olly scoffed. "Yeah, sure... You should eat up, though."

Luke shook his head. "We need to share these. Everyone is hungry."

"B-but..." She thought about this for a second. She was right about Luke, he had decent morals and would never let everyone else go hungry whilst he ate. There was no point arguing the fact that he hadn't eaten longer than the rest of them because he'd still want to share and feel bad if he didn't. "Fine. But you eat first. And don't tell them where I got them from... basically don't mention Joel. He wouldn't like that... in fear of getting in to trouble." The disdain she spoke with sent of alarm bells for Luke.

"You okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Oh! I almost forgot. Bonnie said that she wants to talk to you later, so I'd stay by the gate." He nodded, shoving a cracker in to his mouth hungrily. "If you do decide to share those, be discreet about holding them around."

"I'm not stupid." He spat, his mouth still full of cracker, the image making Olly laugh.

"Of course not, **Lucy**."

Luke gave her a half smile before offering the packet out to her. "Want one, **Oliver**?"

"Uh... No, I'm okay. I'm gonna go check on Clementine... sit with her a bit. I'm getting worried that she hasn't woken up yet." He agreed and allowed her to go sit by the bed.

Looking at the girl, she seemed so peaceful and it sent Olivia in to a trance. Before she knew it, day had turned to night and Bonnie had called Luke over, who had generously been serving out crackers to people as discreetly as he could muster.

"Huh... ouch." Olly turned to see Clementine rising from her 'laying down' position and her hand instinctively reaching to her face. "dang it."

"I'm glad to see you're awake. I was getting worried." Olivia placed a hand on Clem's who smiled affectionately.

"I'm okay. Kenny?"

Olivia looked over at the corpse-like looking man over at the table, that Carlos had converted in to his personnal operating table. "Carlos hasn't said anything yet. He's still working on him. I'm sure he'll be fine, though. Kenny maybe an asshole sometimes, but he's a tough asshole." Clem got out of the bed and Olly allowed her room to maneouver. Them both silently deciding to go join the other's at the campfire to wait for what news Luke and Mike would bring after speaking to Bonnie.

It wasn't long before the two turned around and joined everyone else around the fire. "What'd she say?" Rebecca asked Mike impatiently.

"She said she can get us out of the pen if we can get the PA system going. Second she hears it, she'll run over and spring us."

"That's great."

"It's not great." Luke's angrier voice sounded beside Olly.

"What're you talking about?" Rebecca asked confrontationally.

He sighed. "Look, I know part of this is my fault, I- I know."

Olivia shook her head. "It's isn't your fault-"

"No, Olly! It is... I was hungry, and I got reckless trying to steal some food, and I got caught. That's on me and I-"

"Why isn't it great?" Clementine questioned.

"Because most of us are beat to shit. Or pregnant! And besides that it's risky as hell." Luke exhaled, his hands running through his hair, his body language shouting 'stressed'.

"It is pretty damn risky, guys." Nick agreed and so did Olly.

"Luke's right. I've been telling everyone this since I saw Luke yesterday! Now with Kenny..."

"But risky? Did you see what that sonuvabitch just did? Look, the plan works. Nothing needs to change. The plan's all set up. That hard part is done. This guy's fucking crazy. Who knows what he'll do next." Mike attempted to reason.

"Yeah, but now we're dealin' with a guy beat to shit, Sarita in no shape to do anything, and I'm a goddamn mess. Look, we should rest up, okay? We should bide our time, and we should wait for an opening." Luke countered.

"Bonnie's agreeing to help us tonight."

"And that doesn't mean she can't do it some OTHER night."

"I don't know, guys... Luke's makin' sense. Maybe we should wait." Nick said, continuing to stick by his friend, which Olivia really admired.

"We're NOT waiting."

"Be reasonable, Rebecca." Olivia pleaded.

Luke looked over at her and nodded in thanks before turning back to the group. "Ain't nothing out there, guys. Trust me, I looked! There's no food, there's no supplies. They picked everything clean. I'm just saying we gotta be sensible about this."

"This is being sensible!" Mike stated adamantly, but Olivia just thought he was a fool.

Everyone turned around at the sound of Carlos coming towards them, Clementine and Sarita especially focused. There was a long pause were nobody said anything, just shared sorrowful glances.

"Can I see him?" Clem asked quietly.

The doctor shook his head. "I... don't think that's a good idea. His orbital is crushed... I don't think there's much hope for the eye. I got him as stable as I could, cleaned it, got some of the swelling down, bandaged it as best I could... but until he wakes up, we won't know if there's any damage to the brain." At the tragic news, Sarita began crying once again, even heavier than before and everyone else's faces dropped in to complete melancholy.

"Okay, look... maybe I'm just playin' devil's advocate here, but if... dammit if ya'll are serious about goin' tonight, then we're gonna have to start talkin' about maybe... leavin' some folks behind."

"No!" Even Olivia was shocked to hear Luke say that. Kenny was in that state because he wanted to protect Clementine. This wasn't the man she had bigoted up earlier, no way.

"There is no other way."

"Would you be saying that if it was Nick, Luke? Or... me?" The man stared at Olivia, as if trying to send some silent message. "Would you?!"

He shook his head. "It isn't. Look, I don't like it either, but guess what? It's where we're at."

"Kenny and I are only here because of you people... and now you intend to leave us behind." Sarita sobbed.

"No! We're not leaving Kenny!" Clementine demanded. "That's not fair. We stay together."

"Life ain't fair, Clem. We're just tryin' to make the best of a bad situation, here. No one wants to leave Kenny behind."

A strong wheezing sounded behind them. "Good, 'cause... you won't have to." Everyone turned to the source of the sound and shocked faces viewed the sight of a very messed up looking man doing his best to stand up straight. Sarita was the first to hug him, grateful he was going to be okay... or as okay as expected. "I'm all right, hon." He quickly let her go to address the rest of the group. "We leave tonight... plan don't change."

"Not bad, old man." Nick said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Thanks, asshole."

Olly smiled. "You're even tougher than you pretend to be."

"Ha. Tough guys get their asses kicked in front of everyone?" Kenny's eyes turned to Clementine who was slowly making her way over to him, a very guilty looking expression gracing her features. "You alright?" Clem didn't say anything, just looked to the ground. "That wasn't your fault, okay? So don't go blamin' yourself." With a whimper, the young girl pulled the man in to a crushing hug. "It's all right." The embrace lasted a few seconds before they both separated.

"All right... Well then, what now?" Luke asked.

"We get the hell outta here." Kenny stated simply, as if it was obvious.

"Like now, now?"

"Yes!" Rebecca replied adamantly, her arms crossing over to make her point clear.

"Where are we goin'? In case things get squirrely and we gotta make a break for it, we need a place to meet up." Kenny questioned, trying very badly not to touch his damaged, painful looking eye.

"We could meet up at Parker's Run." Mike suggested.

"The hell is that?"

"It's a Civil War site a few miles north. Tourist trap. Got signs all over. Just follow the road."

"We stopped there after we escaped the first time. Luke and Carlos know where it is. It's not that far." Rebecca explained calmly.

"Well, at least if a few folks know where it's at, it'll be easier to find if we're all split up. All right, that works."

Luke looked from one member of the group to the other, confused as to what the actual plan was. "Then we just need someone to go set off the PA system, right? I mean, you never bothered to explain who's supposed to do that."

All eyes had suddenly turned on Clementine. All eyes apart from Olly's and Luke's, who quickly caught on to why everyone was looking at her.

"You guys can't be serious! Hasn't Clem done enough putting herself in danger?!" Nobody seemed to be paying any attention. "I'll do it!"

Kenny shook his head. "Clementine's faster, smaller and lighter than you."

"I'm gonna need a boost." The little girl interjected.

"Clem, you don't have to do this. You know that, right?" Olly couldn't help the worry she expressed for her. It just came out.

"I know. I got this." She finished with a reassuring smile and Olivia backed down politely. Luke quickly placed a comforting arm around her which she had to restrain from tucking herself in to.

"Be sure to remember to flip the switch for the outdoor speakers. Just the indoor speakers might not draw the herd. It's right on the microphone box. By default it's set to music, so you should just have to turn it on, right? Then climb back up and drop in to the stock room. We'll meet you there." Rebecca explained as fully as she could, her voice wavering slightly with anticipation and nerves.

"I got it."

"Good." Then Mike was promptly pulling her up and Olly was watching her go. "Oh and Clem! Make sure you bring Alvin." The girl nodded in response and that was the last thing Olivia saw before she vanished from view.

"Make sure you grab everything of value from this shithole." Kenny ordered the group, but there wasn't much of anything.

The group was afraid. That was obvious. And they dealt with it the only way humanity do, with a lot of 'good lucks' and 'we'll make it through's.

Luke turned to Olly and gave her the tightest hug he could manage with his injuries and a quick kiss to the temple. "That's insurance."

She smiled and winked. "I'd much rather take the payment now... just in case."

"Yeah well... that ain't how it works. You want the payment, you'll just have to come out of this alive."

"There's a time and a place for that shit. Get it together." Kenny scorned the couple who were now looking very sheepish.

Then it happened. The PA system sounded, it wasn't playing music as planned, but it was loud enough to gather attention and Bonnie was sprinting towards them. The whole situation felt unreal... and if it was done effectively, she wouldn't be keeping her vow of taking Carver with her... not that she didn't want to. The shutter gate that had kept them imprisoned was soon released and they all made a run for it.

"We gotta hurry, Clem'll be waiting for us." Bonnie stated and everyone picked up their speed. As they passed the armory, the woman went inside and pulled out a few guns to take with them, not really having time to grab extra ammo.

"Is my katana in there?"

"I don't see it. I'm sorry." Olly's eyebrows burrowed at the revelation, before shaking her head and getting herself together. It was just an object... at least everyone else was alive.

Before they knew it, they were off again and with a lot of dodging and weaving, the group made it to the stockroom, only to be stopped by Carver... and Joel. _Oh no, no, no, no, no. Not you. _

"I thought you said you never told your Dad the plan." Luke demanded through gritted teeth.

"I never did! I swear!" Olly pleaded on deaf ears. "Dad! Please! Don't do this."

"Shut up!" Carver shouted, holding up his gun at the group, Joel just behind him who didn't seem to be showing any emotion at his daughter's pleas. Had she really upset him this much? "Put your weapons on the floor... NOW!" Out of fear of him doing something stupid, the group obeyed, slowly placing said weapons on the ground in front of them and their hands in the air. _So much for our great escape. _"You wanna disrespect me, fine. You wanna throw away the life... I'm trying to build for us all... then fuckin' fine! You wanna run off with the dogshit group of crippled fucks, then fine. Be my guest!" That's when Olly felt a quick nudge in her side from Luke and turned to see Clementine sliding across the top above Carver. "But I will put a bullet in you and that baby-" Before Clementine could even do anything, Joel had throttled Carver across the head with the butt of his gun, allowing Luke to reach forward for the man's gun and aim it right back at him.

Relief washed over Olivia as she helped Clem down from the top. Her father had chosen her.

The weapons that had been dropped, were back in peoples' hands and the tides had turned. It was Carver's time to cower. "Huh. I expected better from you, Joel. Turning on me again? Tut tut." He then turned to Luke who was still pointing his gun at him. "Come on, Luke. This ain't none of your business."

"Clem where... why isn't Alvin with you? Where is he?" Rebecca pleaded, already knowing the answer. When Clementine said nothing, she had all the verification she needed. "Alvin..." She allowed herself a second to mourn, before her eyes turned violent. "Kill him." Luke's shocked stare was all the proof needed that he wouldn't do it.

"Rebecca, Rebecca sweetie, my god. How did we get here, you and me?" Carver's gravelly voice sounded, sending shivers down Olly's spine. She hated that voice almost as much as Troy's. Almost. "This's just a bit of a custody battle we got on our hands, here."

"Let's just go." Clementine breathed out, evidently sick of the situation.

Olivia glowered at the monster, referred to as 'Bill', in front of her. "Sorry Clem... I'm with Rebecca on this one."

Luke stared at her, his mouth wide open. "What?! What the hell has gotten in to you?"

Joel smirked. "What? My daughter too immoral for you?"

"Not now, dad-"

Kenny had obviously grown impatient and a gunshot sounded... and then another. The man had put two bullets in Carver's kneecaps, crashing him to the floor. "Arrrrrrrrgh!" The room was silent... the only movement was Kenny who had pocketed his gun in favour for a crowbar. "Go on and wait outside." His voice sounded rusky in its foreboding quietness. The group looked at one another worriedly, Jane being the first to actually leave.

Carlos looked to Sarita. "We have to go."

She didn't seem to be listening. "Kenny, please."

"I only need a minute." The broken man was patting the crowbar in to the palm of his hand menacingly, then turned his head towards Clementine. "Go on. You don't need to see this."

"That girl's already seen more than you can imagine." Carver rasped out from the ground.

"Shut your mouth, Bill!" Luke searched the group. "You're all just gonna let him do this?"

"Yes." Rebecca stated defiantly.

"There ain't no part of that son of a bitch I don't hate, but that does not make this right!"

Olly sighed. "Then let's go. Com'on Clem... Dad?" Joel hesitated, taking a second to look at the man that had ordered him around for so long... then nodded.

"What? Leaving so soon, Olivia? I thought you'd be the first to want me dead after what I did... Oh didn't Joel tell you? I was the one who ordered Troy to do all that stuff to ya." Olly's feet automatically stuck themselves to the ground and her heart skipped a beat... before going in to overdrive. "I knew it would break you. I knew it was a fitting punishment for you."

Joel attempted to shove his daughter forward, but she burned with fury. "Take Clem out of here."

Luke turned around to the death glare he feared seeing so much. "No, Olly! Don't let him bait you. Let's just go." It took a few seconds of watching her in that state to comprehend that she wasn't budging, so opted for doing as he was bid, a flash of look like disappointment in his face as he left.

"You shouldn't stay here, Olly." Joel spoke softly. "If you do... I'll have to as well."

"Then stay." With that said, she joined Kenny's side with a nod of acknowledgement from the man. Allowing everyone time to leave before they took advantage of their power. "Mind if I have the first hit?" She asked casually.

"Be my guest." He held out the crowbar to her which she took thankfully... preparing herself to earn her reward.

"You can't protect her from everything. That little girl would do better on her own-"Olivia silenced the man by pushing her foot in to his throat and squishing downwards.

"Time to play." Quickly, she pulled her arm back and then thrust it forward at twice the speed, the crowbar whipping his face to the side, blood gushing down his face... little sounds emanating from him as he attempted to disguise the pain. "He's all yours." The weapon was quickly thrust back in to Kenny's hand.

"You won't see anything." Kenny promised.

"Ha. That's funny comin' from you. How's that eye? Just follow my voice... it'll get ya there. You got a thick fuckin' skull, Kenneth. Should've put you out of your misery right then... now look at ya. You're a mess-" Kenny had heard enough and Carver never got the chance to say another word as his head was split open from the impact of his constant blows.

"Let's go." Kenny said dryly, physical exhaustion taking its toll.

"There's something I've got to do." Joel stated matter-of-factly.

Olly turned round, her mouth open and her eyebrows risen. "...What?"

"I don't remember inviting him anyway." Kenny scowled, which Olivia quickly returned.

"And I don't remember asking for permission."

Joel looked from his daughter back to the older man, then shook his head. "I'll meet you outside. I promise. Just hurry up and get outta here." Olly looked on as her father ran off out of the room, unable to stop him._ Please come back..._

Luke had been waiting for them by the exit, a frown featured on his face... but she didn't care. He didn't get it. "Where's Clem?" She asked calmly.

"With Carlos." He stated, not even taking the time to look at her.

Kenny leaped down first, the pain causing him to cripple over slightly and Sarita to come to his aid. "No, no, I'm- I'm- I'm all right. Come on... we got enough to worry about."

Nick's tormented eyes gazed over the horizons oncoming roamers. "Man, we're never gonna make it through this."

Luke stared in disbelief. "You kidding me? If Clem can handle it, you can."

"Shit. I thought they were comin' in from the South." Kenny looked just as worried as Nick, now.

"We're not leavin' until my dad gets here." Olly declared.

The old man groaned. "We can't stay here, sunshine."

"He's right. We have to get covered now and go... otherwise people are going to die." The anti-social woman told her. "I'm sorry."

"Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Jane. Not that that matters right now." With that, the woman took down a walker that had gotten pretty close and started ripping it apart with a combat knife.

"What if he isn't coming, Olly?" Luke spoke sincerely. "What if that was just a rouse to get you away? We all know what he can be like..."

"No! He wouldn't do that!-"

"Would you kindly shut the fuck up?" Kenny glared at her as he attempted to cover himself in guts.

After giving Clementine something to defend herself, Luke joined Olly's side. "We have to get you covered." She shook her head.

"Please, Olly!" Clem begged, leaving Carlos to cover her in the gore of a roamer. One look at the little girl's face left her defeated.

"Fine." With that, Luke was rubbing his hands all over, making her feel more uncomfortable that she expected. When he was done he turned back to his friend Nick who began the same job.

"What the actual fuck is goin' on here?!" Troy the bastard had emerged, assault rifle in hand, instantly leaving Olivia weak. Luke's calm demeanour had also vanished at the sight of him and with an angry scowl began walking towards him, Olly unable to pull him back. "What is this sick shit? Someone say something before I start-" Before Luke could swing a fist in his direction, a sword was pushed through the back of Troy's skull out to the front, his eyes twisting upwards as he was kicked down, dead. It was Joel.

"Dad..." Olivia gasped, releasing a smile at the sight of him... it grew even bigger when she realised what he was carrying. "My katana."

He nodded and held it out to her. "Thought you might need it." A tear of happiness fell from her eye as she sheathed the weapon and then pulled her father in to a loving hug which he return gratefully.

"We don't have time for that." Jane grumbled. "They're almost on us."

She was right. "We need to get you covered, Dad." He dipped his head in approval, allowing Olivia to cover her dad as much as she could.

"Don't make any noise, got it? They might hear something they don't like. And for fuck's sake, WALK. Act like you belong and you will belong." That was all Jane had time to say before the walkers were on them.

Joel stumbled slightly in front of his daughter, who was constantly glancing over at Clementine and Luke. She should have stayed closer to them... but they had already started walking as she was hugging her dad and it wasn't like she could just run to them.

Gunshots sounded from the top of Howe's as they fired upon the oncoming herd and Olly prayed they wouldn't decide to start firing on them too. A few seconds later, screams were heard coming from Sarah. "DAD!" Carlos hadn't made it and Joel restrained her from going over there by placing an arm around her waist and pulling her through. She managed to catch a glimpse of the panicking girl running through the herd.

"Sarah!" Luke's voice echoed through the crowd as he bolted after her.

"Dad, they need our help." But he only held on to her tighter. "Dad, stop!"

* * *

**Okay so... excuse my French, but that was a bitch to write! I promised you it would be long and it turned out to be the longest one yet. I really wanted to get this to you guys before I went on holiday so you'd have something whilst I'm away for a little while. Seriously though, this was so hard to write because I just wasn't happy with a lot of it... I hope you guys like it at least a little! **

**A lot of stuff happened this chapter... a lot of feels. Also, a bit of rewriting to incorporate my OC's, not much, but a little. Some original scenes as well! Got a teensy bit serious at the end too... I regret nothing. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Especially to those people who keep coming back and keep making this story better. Thank you so much. **

**Until next time!**

**UPDATE: Hey guys! First of all, I'm really sorry for not updating these past couple of weeks. I've literally just started my A-levels now and the amount of work I'm receiving is going to take some getting used to. Next, the observant bunch of you will notice the new cover image for the story. A lovely reader sent me some fanart of Olivia and Luke and I can't honestly say I've never been more touched. Definitely check them out. miamaha. deviantart **

**Oh and just so you know, the ending has finally been mapped out and planned... and I think you'll all be pleasantly surprised ;) Watch out for Chapter 18 - coming soon. **


	18. Chapter 18 - Panic

TWD Chapter 18 - Panic

"Dad, stop!" Joel growled at her in warning, noticing the roamers who seemed to turn at her voice, but she was much more concerned for what was happening a little ways off. "Let me go!" Realising she wasn't going to quieten by herself, Joel covered her mouth roughly with his hand and dragged her further away. Olly fought against her father's tight grip... to no avail. She tried to look through the herd in the hope of spotting... well, anyone. For a quick flash, she swore she saw Clementine with Kenny... but then her visual was blocked and she was back to fighting against her father. She wanted to shout at him, bite him, kick him... anything to get him off her. She'd only get them killed though, as much as she hated to admit it.

Joel, who had obviously been concentrating far too much on the horizon, pulled Olivia a little to hard, causing her feet to fumble and for her to crash to the ground. The yelp she released in shock attracted some very unwanted attention and gnashing teeth quickly turned on her. "Olivia..." Her father's wavering voice was barely audible compared to the loud moans of the roamers who had now turned on the young woman. One in particular launched towards her, leaving only enough time for Olly to dodge out of the way and unsheathe her sword. Pulling her to her feet, Joel pushed his own hidden combat knife through the roamer's head, twisting to yank it out straight after. Another charged towards them and Olly responded by slicing horizontally, it's head toppling to the floor. "We have to move." Joel whispered quietly in to her ear and Olivia silently agreed with a nod of her head.

They soon emerged from the herd with sweat pouring down their faces and both of them doubled over, their hands on their knees, panting as they reached what looked to be, safety. Neither of them sure how far they had run after escaping the bulk of the horde, but both knew that it had been a reasonably long time. Once Olivia was able to catch her breath, she wiped her hand across her forehead swiping away any loose droplets whilst her father removed his hat and waved it in front of his face in order to cool down.

"I think we're fine, now." Joel managed through deep breaths as he replaced his hat on his head.

Olly turned to her father and glowered at him. "Fine?! We're not fine! We abandoned everyone!"

Joel frowned and shook his head. "We did what we had to. They would have done the same."

She scoffed at him. "You're wrong. Luke already came back for us all once. They'd never abandon m-... us." Olly startled herself by nearly finishing that sentence with 'me'. It didn't sound like her at all.

Joel laughed humourlessly. "It's alright. It's true. The only person who would have given a shit whether I lived or died in that group would have been Carlos... and he's gone." The man tried with all his might to hide his sorrow, but Olly could see right through it... and immediately she felt terrible. Carlos was dead. The doctor had been her father's only friend and he'd been a friend to Olly too. He'd taught her a few easy and crucial procedures and in that time she'd learned so much about him. Even though most of the time she disagreed with him about Sarah, amongst other things, she knew how much that man had loved his daughter... and how difficult everything was going to get now.

Olly placed a soothing hand on her father's arm. "I'm sorry about Carlos." She offered gently, but Joel just shrugged her off.

"I assume you had set up a meeting place with the rest of the group. That would have been the smart thing to do... not that I'd say the group was particularly smart."

Olivia sighed impatiently. "Yeah. The Civil War site. You know it?" He nodded and pointed towards a sign a few metres away. Then they both began a brisk pace towards their destination. The gloomy, descending darkness doing nothing to break the tension. "Had you done that before?" Olly asked randomly.

Joel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Done what?"

"The whole walking through a herd thingy. You seemed like you had."

He chuckled lightly. "Nothing gets past you, ey? Yeah. Once. Just before I met Bill." Olivia winced at the mention of his name. "And I could certainly tell that you hadn't."

She rolled her eyes in response. "Ha. Ha. Sorry for not wanting to see my friends die" the venom in her voice was apparent as she spat the words at her father, irritated he was treating her like a child.

"You should do yourself a favour and leave the lot of 'em. They're gonna end up getting you killed... if you don't get yourself killed first due to your stupid impulses to try and help everyone."

Olly scowled at him, the death glare returning in its entirety. "Look DAD, if you're plannin' on sticking around, I think you should start learning that being a selfish prick isn't a fucking option in this group. I don't even know who else is alive right now and if there is anyone left..." Her thoughts quickly turned to Luke and Clementine, unable to push past the images of their mangled bodies, she shuddered at the thought. "we have to stick together!"

Joel tutted to himself. "Who says I'm 'sticking around' anyway?"

"You did. You did when you chose me over... him."

Her father managed a glance in her direction, his eyes trying to mask his irritation. "I thought I was incapable of caring about you, huh?"

A wave of guilt washed through her at the memory of their dispute... she knew she had been wrong about him... but he had been wrong too. "I am sorry for what I said. I- I know you care about me... in your own weird way. But you were wrong about Luke. Being a good person isn't a bad thing!"

Joel gave himself a smug grin, the rest of his face betraying his false sincerity. "Well that 'good person' you like so much sure as hell is pissed at you."

"What? What are you talking about?!"

"That icy look he gave you when you decided you wanted to beat the shit outta Bill before killing him, damn. I'd be surprised if he is able to even look at you again."

Olly growled and punched her father in the arm, which in the end probably hurt herself more than him, his hard muscles causing the flying fist to bounce off pathetically. "Why are you doing this to me?! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO BAIT ME?!" Olivia's eyes filled to the brink with tears, her body shaking with anger and distress.

"Because I need you to wake up and smell the coffee, honey!" Joel stared his daughter down, exasperated.

"Luke cares about me!"

"Maybe he does, but that only accounts for so much! I told you. His morals mean more to him than anything else and what you did-"

"-He tried to have me raped!" The tears, no longer able to contain themselves, slid down her now pale cheeks.

Joel's face softened as he took in the view of his broken child. "I know. I'm sorry. But it's about time you realised that the only person you can fully rely on is YOU. Not the group, not me and certainly not Luke."

Olly wiped her face on her sleeve and shook her head, as if trying to block out his words. "I'm so done." Olivia glanced around for any inkling of how long it would be before reaching the Civil War site.

"We've still got another hours walk." Joel said as if reading her mind. She ignored him.

* * *

When their destination was in Olivia's line of sight, her heart began hammering even quicker, the fear almost paralysing. What if nobody had made it? What if they'd already left? Surely not...

Relief released her body at the sight of, what looked to be, Bonnie and Mike stood waving at them. They weren't alone.

"It's good to see someone else has made it." Bonnie said softly, failing to hide her disappointment that it wasn't someone who actually meant something to her. "And I didn't think I'd be seeing you again, Joel."

"Good to see you too, Bonnie." He replied sarcastically.

"So... has anybody else made it?" Olly asked hopefully. Bonnie and Mike's eyes glazed with sorrow as they both turned to the hunched figure sat at the fountain, cradling his dying love. "Oh my... w-what happened?"

"Sarita... she got bit. There was nothing we could do." Bonnie's eyes lowered to the floor, an expression of pity gracing her features.

"No word on Clem? Luke?"

Mike shook his head. "No word from anyone else. We know Luke and Nick might have been headin' after Sarah when shit went down back at the warehouse, but other than that..."

Olly made an empathetic glance towards Kenny, genuinely worried for his state of mind. "Has anybody tried talking to him?"

Mike nodded. "Of course but... he just sorta lost it at us. I think it's best we leave him alone a little while."

She hummed in acknowledgement. Then as she looked around the lonely looking Civil War site, she came to the conclusion she needed to find the others and quickly. "We need to split up. Search for the others."

Bonnie shook her head. "We agreed to meet them here. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Olly looked up at the sky, then back at Bonnie, a brow raised with a questioning look in her eyes. "It's already light and nobody else has turned up..."

"You turned up."

"Look, you know that we wouldn't get anywhere with out Luke now... we need him. And Clem is still out there. My bet is that Clem is with Luke and I'm sure Nick will be too. We need to find 'em." Olivia pleaded.

"Even if that's the case, we can't all go chargin' out there." Bonnie retorted, her hands on her hips.

"Maybe we won't have to." Mike pointed over Olly's and Joel's shoulders at the people walking over horizon; Rebecca, Jane... Clementine. Olivia broke in to a sprint, a smile on her face. Clementine saw her coming and opened her arms for her, which she responded to by picking the little girl up and twirling her around.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Clem. I'm so sorry for leaving you, I couldn't stop my dad from-"

"-It's fine, Olly. I'm okay." Olivia placed the girl back on the floor and put her hand on her shoulder, still smiling. She looked past the young girl in the hopes of being able to greet Luke also, her smile faltered when she realised he wasn't there.

"Luke's not with you?" Clementine shook her head.

Olivia rose and turned to face the group. "Okay. I'm going to find the others, don't even try and stop me."

"I wasn't going to." Bonnie said, surprising Olivia with her agreement... and obviously seeing the pained look in Olly's eyes.

"Is Kenny and Sarita okay?" Clementine's timid voice spoke from behind Olivia causing the group to turn and look at her, then at Kenny.

"Sarita's not going to make it. I tried talking to Kenny and he flipped out on me." Mike explained carefully.

"Maybe I should talk to him?" Clem offered.

Olivia shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Clem."

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "It might be worth a try. Kenny knows Clementine."

"You think he's a danger?" The mysterious woman, Jane, asked Olly who was looking the most nervous about it.

"I know little enough about Kenny to be wary, if that's what you mean." Before anyone else could say anything, Clementine had already made her way over to the grieving man. Olivia gave out a gasp and was about to bring her back, until a firm hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Let her do it." Joel ordered. She scowled at her father, attempting to shove his hand off her shoulder. There was a long pause of silence whilst the group weighed up their options.

"I'm going crazy just sitting here not doing anything." Mike huffed after a minute or so, his hands twitching with impatience.

"Agreed." That's when Olly noticed Clementine rejoining the group, her eyebrows knotted in a sad expression. "Are you okay, Clem?" She remained silent.

"How'd it go?" Rebecca pried carefully. Again she was quiet, just turning to look at her old friend. "Give him time. You can't expect him to just bounce back after something like that. What that man's going through..."

"Still. Doesn't exactly help us figure out what we're gonna do now." Mike stated. "We've got no food, no water, it's getting damn cold, and we're losin' daylight fast."

"We should look for the others." Clem said matter-of-factly.

"Thank you! Someone who's speaking my language." Olivia managed a smile in appreciation of the little girl.

"Agreed. You can't just keep sitting around waiting. Things are difficult enough right now and soon you'll have a baby on your hands, too." Olly glanced over at the woman she knew so little about and couldn't help but be a little curious about who she was... and why she seemed so cold.

"If they're in trouble, we might be able to help them." The little girl offered.

"I'll go. Clem can come with me." Jane ordered.

Olly suppressed a chortle of fake laughter. "I hope you don't planning on goin' without me!"

Joel sighed. "Does it really require more than two people, Olivia?"

"Well considering I was the first to fucking offer, I think I'm entitled to look for them myself."

"Is it really about that?" His words were spat, no inkling of affection for his daughter or her 'lover' present. "Or is it more to do with that boy you dote upon." It wasn't a question.

Olivia scowled at him and was about to open her mouth to retaliate, before Jane interrupted, sensing a full blown argument. "You can come. But we need to go now."

* * *

It felt like they had been walking forever. The dirt paths never ending as the overgrown vegetation surrounded them, the silence amongst the small group and surrounding area almost deafening. Olivia felt like she should say something... anything to break the tension and perhaps to take her mind off how every second longer searching, made her heart break. She lifted her head up to look at the strange woman who was tottering beside Clementine in front of her. Clem almost seemed comfortable in her presence and the sight almost made Olly snort in disbelief... but she wouldn't be jealous.

"You haven't told us much about yourself?" The red head stated as her legs sped up in order to be aligned with theirs.

"Was that a question? Sounded like a question." Jane asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I'm just curious. You seem a little... isolated."

Jane smiled knowingly. "So do you."

It was Olly's turn to narrow her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not stupid. I've seen the way you are with that group. You're not good in it. You don't fit. I'd say you were pretty new in it, right? It would explain why Bonnie and the others didn't know you. How long were you alone for?" Jane questioned.

"Who the hell are you, Sherlock fricking Holmes? Geez." Olivia rolled her eyes, but her hands began fiddling at the nervousness she felt due to Jane's accuracy. "You're right. I was alone for a long time."

Jane smiled triumphantly. "It's easier, isn't it?"

Olivia scowled. "You and I obviously remember being alone very differently. I remember almost dying of hunger and thirst, of being attacked by opportunists... fearing for my life every time I tried to sleep. How is that easier? The only reason I'm alive is because of this group..." _Because of Luke..._ she silently thought, but if there had been any doubt in Olly's mind that this woman was odd, it had just vanished.

Jane sighed, her gaze dropping to the floor before turning to the red head. "Look, I'm gonna level with you. You should know that finding your friends... that's a shot in the dark."

Olivia and Clementine frowned simultaneously. "I don't know about that. We shouldn't give up before we've even looked." The previously quiet little girl stated adamantly.

"Okay, but..." Jane paused, taking a glance at Olivia before turning back to Clem. "The plan was to talk to you, away from everyone else, but obviously someone insisted."

The woman in question growled slightly. "That 'someone' is right here and has a name. Anything you have to say to Clem can be said in front of me."

The woman stopped and shrugged at the duo. "Okay. Fine. Look, Clem... You wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't smart, but I still... I gotta warn you, both of you. That group is cracking. I've seen it before. And, well... even if your friend disagrees, alotta times it's better to be on your own... You two could easily just go, look out for each other-"

"Just stop, okay! You may be able to get by with being a loner, but sometimes people need someone." Jane shook her head and began walking once again, quickly followed by Olivia and Clementine.

"But you know what I'm talking about... and that's why I suggested you two take care of each other. You obviously care for Clem and you know what she's capable of, even if you are a little possessive."

The young girl scowled slightly to herself. "Olly's right, bad stuff happens to you when you're alone too and you need a group in order to protect yourselves."

"Not always, Clem-" Jane began before Olivia cut her off.

"Enough. This isn't important right now. Luke, Nick and Sarah are still missing-"

"And you haven't been paying attention. Finding them is a long shot!"

"Be quiet, you two." Clem hissed, quickly scouting around to see if anything heard. The group quickly fell silent again, not willing to talk in case another argument ensued. A couple of minutes later the group entered a clearing.

"Jackpot!" Jane exclaimed as she ran towards a few roamer corpses. "Bet these walkers have some good stuff." She quickly knelt down beside the dead people, promptly stabbing her screwdriver through it's rotting head. "That one's not coming back. Best search 'em." Then, her hands were searching the pockets of the dead person. Olly began searching through the other before Jane shook her head. "Let her do it. She has to learn."

Olivia frowned at her before allowing herself to step back and Clementine to step forward. The young girl awkwardly patted around the corpse before pulling out a few bullets. Jane glanced up and smiled. "Hold on to 'em. Ammo's getting hard to come by, and things aren't going to get better."

Olly began tapping her foot impatiently, her nails reaching in to her mouth nervously. "Look, can we hurry this up? No offense but Luke and the other's might be in trouble."

Jane ignored her and turned to Clem. "Smart haircut.." and she smiled in response. "So... has your crew always been so dysfunctional?" Olivia sighed in irritation. "You fit in, but you don't belong there."

"I was with another group before... that's when I got my hair cut like this."

The other woman began fiddling again and a grin appeared when a sharp metal object appeared in her hand. "A nail file. These things are great. Sharpen a blade, strike a flint... Jaime always had one in her purse. It'd jab my hand when I went reaching in..." The soft expression she gave as she spoke revealed her sensitive side and left her vulnerable... making Olly realise that perhaps she missed this more than she let on.

"Who's Jaime?" Olivia asked carefully.

"My sister." Was all she said as she began attempting to shove over another roamer a little ways off. "Give me a hand." Clem joined her side and both began pushing and as it toppled over, fractured red rimmed glasses came in to view.

"W-wait.. s-stop. Stop." The red head stuttered as she quickly grasped the glasses from the floor. "They're Sarah's."

"I'm sorry... I tried to tell you-"

Olivia's death glare returned at an alarming rate. "This doesn't mean she's dead! It means she was here! And I know Luke was following her so all we need to do-"

"Look, I know what you want me to say, but..."

The sounds of crying became audible close by. "GET OFF!" It was Sarah. All three of them had their breath hitch in their throats. The sound was quickly followed by "Sarah... god dammit!" and Olivia had to stop herself from collapsing on the floor with relief.

"Luke..." A single tear sprang from her eye as scouted for a way to reach them, desperation flooding her veins. "We have to get to them."

Jane nodded and turned to look through the fence. "Looks like there's an opening over there." Olivia saw where she was looking and sprinted off in that direction. "Hey, slow down!" Her commands fell on deaf ears as the only thing she cared about at that point was reaching Luke. The fence was jumped and the building they were in was scouted before the other two could even comprehend what was happening.

"They're in that building over there, but it's surrounded by roamers. We don't have a lot of time left." Olivia was crouched behind a wall as the other two approached behind her. "We need to distract them or something... get them away from there." The screams of Sarah were not dying down any time soon. Olly ran forwards towards the two walkers on their side of the fence as she unsheathed her blade and swiped it through the closets' neck. The other was dispatched by Jane, her scowl ignored by Olivia. "We need to make some noise or something."

"Perhaps we could get this done with out you putting us all in danger though, yeah?"

Sensing tension, Clementine pointed at the car. "Could we make some noise with that."

Jane nodded. "Check it." She quickly opened the car door and began buzzing the horn. It managed to grab their attention but it was nothing substantial.

"I have an idea!" Olly pointed to the lifeless corpse on the ground and began heaving it towards the car.

"What are you doing?" Jane seethed, her voice deepening as she attempted to keep quiet.

"Y-yanking this c-corpse over to the horn. T-thought it would be p-pretty obvious." She stuttered out between forced breaths as she pulled the roamer over to Clementine's position.

"Clem, help her." Jane ordered which the girl immediately responded to. Before they knew it, the horn was sounding constantly, the roamers now averting their attention towards it. "Through here. Quickly!" The group turned to the other cabin and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. One of the dead people clawed at the window inside, but was quickly put down by Olivia who ran her sword through it's head. Panic swept in, however, when they realised the noise had stopped on their side... but Sarah was still going. "Crap! We gotta move it!"

The aggressive sounds following behind them panicked each of them more. Matters weren't helped when they tried to open the door and it was locked. Olivia's fist banged on the door as loud as she could but there was no response. "Olivia get that door open! Me and Clem will hold 'em off." Olly didn't even have time to comprehend worrying about the little girl before she began kicking on the door. She could hear the two cutting the mini horde down, but she couldn't think about that. She had to get this door down.

And with another hard kick the door swung open, but before she could celebrate, she was forcefully shoved inside by a strong hand on her shoulder. "Help me block this! Hurry!" Olly wasn't listening though. Her eyes were scouting for Luke, nothing else mattered. There wasn't time for her to be scolded either as Clem and Jane began blocking the now broken doorway.

A squeal was heard as the heavy wardrobes dropped followed by Luke's soothing voice. "Sarah, please. Who's out there?!"

"Luke! I-It's me!" Olivia struggled to voice the words, the adrenaline pumping through her body, her heart clenching so tight... but sinking so fast when he stuck his head out the room her resided in.

"Oliver."

* * *

**I'm cruel, aren't I? Sorry for this taking so long and sorry for the little cliffhanger. There is a reason for this taking so long... I haven't been very well because of stress which sounds like an excuse but I suffer with epilepsy and stress is very much a trigger for it. Plus my workload has been ridiculous since starting college, but I promise I'll try and write more. If you missed my update on the last chapter, I'm hoping you still noticed the new cover image which is totally beautiful and you definitely check out miamaha on deviantART. Thanks for sticking with me, guys. I hope it was worth the wait. **


	19. Chapter 19 - Love Conquers All

TWD Chapter 19 – Love conquers all.

* * *

"Oliver." Was all Luke could mutter before Olivia's arms were tightly clenched around him, a slight grunt sounding at the impact against his ribs.

"I'm so glad you're okay..." She managed as she tucked herself in the crook of his neck.

"There's a time and a place!" Jane screeched at them as Olly sheepishly pulled herself away. That's when she spotted a very weak looking Nick behind him.

"Oh my god! Nick! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." He groaned through pained grunts.

"He got hit on the way outta Howe's." Luke explained, a concerned expression on his face as his friend rubbed his own shoulder.

"We need to get you some place safe so I can look at that properly." There was a slight pause as Olly searched over Luke, wanting to sooth every bruise she could see on his face. "What about you? Are you hurt?" She already knew the answer.

He shrugged lightly, attempting to conceal the ache he was feeling. "I'm, uh, I'm walkin'. Can't do much else, though." Luke's expression immediately dropped, pain and defeat gracing his features. "Sarah... she's another story... I don't know what to do about her."

"What's the matter?" Jane asked calmly.

He paused before turning to the room that Nick sat with her in. "You gotta help." Quickly, all three of them followed after Luke who was now solemnly trying to coax the scarred girl in to life. "Sarah, look. Look, it's Clem. See? It's just like I told you, they're okay." The girl lifted her head and looked around, but it was obvious she wasn't actually seeing anything. "Sarah, come on. We... we have to go now." There was no response from her. "I don't know what to do. I can't snap her out of it, okay? Me and Nick tried to carry her, but I... I guess Carver messed me up pretty good back there and Nick's shoulder doesn't help much."

"After Carlos, she just lost it, man. Started running through the woods like a maniac." Nick explained, his voice dry and rough. "We chased her for, I don't know how long... she saw this mobile home and made a beeline for it."

"I'm just glad ya'll are here." Luke finished, taking a quick glance towards Olivia before turning away.

The sound of roamers seemed to increase as they piled up against the mobile home, banging on the sides. "We're not out of the woods yet." Jane pointed out, her face trying to conceal her worry.

"What are we gonna do about her?" Luke asked hesitantly.

"What d'ya mean?! We carry her." Olly stated, as if it was obvious.

The banging grew louder and Jane was looking more and more uneasy. "Look, I, uh." The woman looked from person to person then down to the floor. "They're gonna tear this place open pretty soon. We can't stay. So we gotta get her up, or we gotta..."

"Well, me and Nick have been trying... we've been trying for hours. I can barely get her to look at me." Luke was still hunched over clutching his stomach and just the sight of it made Olivia determined that nobody else was going to get hurt.

"Then let's hurry up and grab her. How we gonna get out of here?" Olly asked, her hands on her hips and her eyebrows furrowed in determination... her mind clearer than it had been in a long time. She'd survive this. They'd all survive this and then finally, she'd tell Luke just how she felt. That notion would keep her going.

"It's not that easy. When I tried to pick Sarah up the last time, aside from the pain... she kicked and screamed. Nick couldn't calm her down either."

"It's true. It's like she doesn't want anyone touchin' her." Nick reassured Luke's statement with a sad expression.

"Who gives a fuck?! If it saves her life, we'll persevere. Now how the hell do we get outta here?" Olivia was losing her patience fast, almost as fast as they were losing time.

"Well- what about the skylight?" Jane quickly pointed up above Luke and Nick's heads, prompting Olly to start looking around for anything to get them up there. Before there was even time to react, however, the blockade covering the front door began shifting and the roamers scrambled over. "Get up that skylight now!" Jane shouted as she sprinted to cover the entrance.

"Com'on Clem, I'll boost you." Luke began kneeling down in front of the skylight before Olivia shook her head adamantly.

"Stop and think, Luke! You're injured, as is Nick. You guys need to get gone first. I'll boost you." He almost looked as if he would refuse, but his will was as weak as his body at that moment and allowed Olly to kneel in front of him, grasping his foot and pushing him up. The sounds of falling corpses sounded from the other room, an indication that their time was almost up. Luke just about managed to drag himself out of the small space, before turning to reach for Nick. "Jane, you okay?!" Olivia had to make sure that none of those falling corpses had been her.

"Yeah, just hurry the fuck up!"

That tired voice was all Olly needed to speed things up. Nick's foot was the next to be grasped in her palms, using all her strength to get him up and to safety. The distressed grunts he gave as he was lifted were almost unbearable, but at least he was safe. "Now you, Clem."

"What about Sarah?!" The girl was worried that Olivia would leave her behind, but that would be insult to Carlos' memory.

"I'll handle it. Just go." She wasn't budging and the hesitation was setting Olly's nerves on end. "Trust me."

"Clem, hurry! We don't have time." Apparently Luke was feeling the same, his hand extending down towards the girl. Clementine glanced upwards at the outstretched arm, and after a seconds thought, allowed herself to be pushed upwards and out to safety. "Jane, get in here!" Olly had decided in that instant that if Sarah was going to be difficult, she wouldn't let someone else die for it, not somebody who could be saved. In what seemed like less than a second, the woman had sprinted in the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Before there could be a moments thought, Jane had been shoved through the skylight with the others. That just left Sarah and Olly.

"It's our turn, Sarah. I'm gonna grab you now, okay?" The girl said nothing, she didn't even acknowledge her existence. At least that was until Olly picked her up. The screaming and kicking ensued immediately, an accidental punch to the face by the girl causing Olly to almost drop her.

"There's no time! Leave her!" Jane ordered, but Olly wasn't listening. She wouldn't do that.

The banging on the bedroom door was only growing louder, the wood cracking as it splintered because of the force against it. Luke stared down at Olivia's struggle, completely helpless and he couldn't bare it. "Perhaps Jane's right, Olly."

The red head stared at him with disbelief, not comprehending how this man could be the same one she had fallen for over the past few months. "I won't leave her! I won't shit on Carlos' memory like that! If we leave her, he died for nothing!" Luke shook his head before reaching his hand down once again.

Somehow Olly found the strength to block out Sarah's screams and minimize her swatting and kicking, moving towards the skylight. Just as Sarah was pulled to safety, the door gave in and piles of roamers fell into the room. "OLLY!" Luke and Clem's unified terror was enough to give her a heart attack. Once Sarah was yanked to safety, she had a split second to get herself up. "Please hurry, Oliver!"

Olly had never been a good jumper, but she had never had so much adrenaline coursing through her body either and somehow even with a roamer almost grasping her leg, the jump was easy. The strain on Luke, not so much... it took the aid of Jane to get her fully up before she fell in the arms of her death. The whole group's hearts were pumping at an incomprehensible speed, Olivia knelt over, her breathing erratic. A pair of strong arms closed over her tightly pulling her up straight.

"Don't you dare ever put yourself in danger like that again, Olly." Luke's voice was barely audible as he struggled to breath.

"Someone had to." The disdain was evident as she spoke causing Luke to take a step back... somehow things were different. "Sarah? You okay?" The girl didn't reply, she was still shaking from the encounter.

"Come on!" Jane jumped down from the roof, soon followed by a very solemn group.

* * *

"Urgh... Okay, I hate to be the one to ask, but... are we nearly there yet?" All of them had been walking for some time, stopping only a short while as Olly tried to apply what little Carlos had taught her to fix up Nick who was still bleeding from the gunshot.

Jane gazed over at the struggling man, a glint of amusement in her eye. "We're not far."

Olivia managed a glance towards the man she was struggling to recognise, noticing he was looking at her too. They shared a moment and Olly shook her head lightly, her eyes clenching shut as she turned away. "You were right." She looked back unexpectedly at Luke's confusing admission. "I shouldn't have been so willin' to leave her."

Nick turned to his friend, not seeing what he saw. "We do what we have to, right?"

Luke scowled. "I... just... can't believe it. Soon as you said 'go', I was the first up on that roof."

"You did as I asked, Luke."

"Yeah, and you almost died because of it." The guilt was emanating from him, making Olly wonder if the man she loved was still in there after all. Yes, the man she loved. She had been avoiding thinking it, that confession seemed too much for her... but she knew she loved him. She always had.

"You can't let it eat away at you, Luke." Jane interrupted from the front of the group.

"She's right. You were injured... and I... I needed you to be safe." Olly's eyes shot to the ground, counting the footsteps she took, anything to avoid his gaze.

"You did good getting out there. Now you gotta keep it up." Clem's voice sounded from behind them, obviously trying to communicate with Sarah.

"But... I'm not okay." At least she was talking.

"Just try, okay?" The struggling girl returned to silence and hope for her was diminishing.

"She just needs a little time, Clem. Leave her be for a bit." Jane commanded softly, not wanting to cause any upset, but letting people know at the same time she knew what she was talking about. "I don't know about this. The way she is... she's gonna cause problems."

Olivia's worn out features soon morphed in to that of anger. "So, what? We should have just left her? Is that your suggestion?!"

"No, I didn't mean... look just because you got her out of there today, doesn't mean you saved her. Trust me." There was a hesitant pause of silence. "I tried to save Jaime too. But she... gave up. I dragged her across four states. And every morning, she'd say she wasn't getting up. So I'd convince her. Or push her. Or goddamn carry her, if I had to. Until this time... walkers cornered us. Forced us to the roof. And then when they kept coming... I... I couldn't make her jump. Couldn't throw her. So I tried something else. I told her she could have what she wanted. And I left her there."

"Jaime isn't Sarah." Olly stared her down for a second before shaking her head.

"You don't get it. Has it ever occurred to you that you're putting her through a forced march through hell?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that we shouldn't just give up!"

"Hey, com'on guys. Now's not the time." Nick was looking nervously from woman to woman, worried a cat fight might follow.

Olly sighed before turning to the little girl beside her. "You've been very quiet, Clem. You okay?"

She paused before dipping her head. "I was just thinking about Kenny. He seemed really mad at me earlier."

"It wasn't your fault, Clem. Don't ever think it was." Clementine nodded in response and the chat died down once again, creating an empty silence. Olly could feel Luke staring at her, but she was unwilling to look. It hurt to see his sad eyes. She missed his perfect, genuine smile and his sense of humour. Every smile mustered recently felt forced and fake. She needed to fix this. She wasn't prepared to see this all end now, not after everything. But at the same time, she couldn't face it. She was afraid, it was pathetic.

"Come on, let's get you all back to your friends."

* * *

A few minutes later, the Civil War site was in view and Mike and Joel were there to greet them. Surprisingly, Joel pulled his daughter in to a hug causing her to yelp in surprise. "You've been gone ages." Was all he muttered, but she knew what he meant. He had been worried.

"You found 'em!" Mike smiled upon the group, but it wasn't returned.

"Yeah, I'm a little amazed myself, to tell you the truth." Luke shifted nervously as he passed Joel, still not trusting him. "If it weren't for Clem, Jane... and Olly, well I don't know what would've happened."

Bonnie soon joined the group, guiding a very distressed looking Rebecca who was slightly hunched forward, hand resting on her belly. "Sarah, how you doing hon?" The girl managed to walk forwards slightly, but didn't respond. "That's okay, sweetie. Whenever you're ready. I'm just glad you're here." One last look and then Sarah was off, sitting away from everyone else. "But, wait.. wait.. Nick are you okay? You're bleeding."

"Yeah, I could use some help with that. Olivia did what she could, but it still hurts like hell."

Olly shook her head. "There's nothing more I can do with out supplies. We need to search the surrounding areas for some."

"Well we'll need stuff for Rebecca when she goes into labour too." Bonnie agreed.

"I guess we'll need to split up." Joel stated, his hands on his hips.

"We need you here, Joel. In case Kenny isn't willing to help deliver the baby... you've been there before." The man almost seemed to blush at the memory, but was replaced with a look of despair which Olivia guessed was him remembering her mother.

"Where is Kenny?" Clem asked, averting her gaze around their make-do camp.

Bonnie turned to look at an old tent, silently revealing the answer. "He went in there after you left. Took Sarita with him... to take care of her. I don't think he's doing well. In fact, I was hoping you'd talk to him again. Try and get through to him. We need him to be straight when Rebecca goes in to labour."

Clementine seemed hesitant, but she nodded. "I'll try."

Olivia felt like stopping her, but Jane's comment about her being possessive echoed in her mind... and she decided against it. "Be careful, Clem." The little girl nodded before setting off towards Kenny's hiding spot.

"We need to discuss plans for getting supplies." Bonnie said.

"I think we could take five minutes, Bonnie. Our trip wasn't exactly easy." Only then did she see the true extent of their exhaustion, instantly agreeing with Olivia once she realised.

Olly took the moment to sit down next to the statue, her head in her hands, fighting back a headache. It wasn't long before she felt a presence beside her. She knew it was Luke. Who else would bother?

"You okay?"

She felt like saying she was, just to put him at ease... she didn't have the energy to lie, though. "No, not really. Everything is just shit."

"You have me worried, Olly. That whole thing with Carver... I've seen you angry but-"

"-Please, don't. Don't judge me. I'm not judging you for wanting to leave Sarah-"

"Hey, I never wanted to leave her but-"

"But you would have." She sighed. "I guess we're both losing who we are. I certainly don't know any more." She rubbed her head roughly before lifting it up and looking at him. "I know you're probably questioning me... questioning how you feel about me. For a second I thought I was doing the same back at that mobile home, but-"

"Just stop there, Olivia. I have never questioned how I feel about you. I've questioned your motives, sure... but I was more worried about you than anything. And yeah, I was a little pissed back at Howe's... I understood though. What that man tried to do to you-" His eyes clenched at the thought, his nose shrivelling in to an expression of disgust. "I just didn't want to lose you to the hate. I'd miss you too much, Oliver."

She managed a smile at the pet name and the relief she felt was overwhelming. He didn't hate her and that was enough for her. "I love you, Lucy."

His eyes widened slightly at the revelation before relaxing, returning her smile. Olivia supposed he hadn't expected her to ever voice the words, especially with their current predicament being what it was. It seemed like such a bad time and yet, it was the perfect time. If she didn't say it now, she might not get a chance later and he very much felt the same way.

"I love you too, Oliver. Always have."

* * *

**A quick chapter release to make up for my lack of updates over recent weeks. It's a little shorter but a lot of tense moments resided within it. AND NICK'S ALIVE! There is a reason and it all comes together for the ending, trust me. **

**I know I say this every time, but I really do appreciate everyone sticking by this story and all your reviews really do mean a lot. They're my motivation and the reason I keep going with this. You're all awesome! **


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